


Ouija

by ProbsAni



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Other, Swearing, alcohol use, angry and comedic snatcher, gambling mention, heccin angst, the slow process of falling in love, you'll end up with the snatcher eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21975088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProbsAni/pseuds/ProbsAni
Summary: You find yourself going camping with your friends in Subcon Forest on your birthday. They insist you fiddle around with an Ouija board as a party game, but something goes terribly wrong and now you're stuck paying the price so your friends can live.And you? Well, we'll see!
Relationships: Snatcher (A Hat in Time)/Reader, Snatcher x reader, Snatcher/Queen Vanessa
Comments: 17
Kudos: 211





	1. Camping as a Birthday Present

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I haven't written a fanfiction in a decade (which is very true mind you)! I hope you enjoy. I sat through 30 minutes of Snatcher dialogue and playing over Subcon forest a few times to try and nail his character. I'm sorry if it's not what you expected! 
> 
> Also, please be mindful of what I said before. I'm not necessarily looking for feedback/criticism here so please keep that to yourself. I know it's going to be slow, but that's how I feel the falling in love process is for a character like The Snatcher. Please sit back and enjoy! (Also, I hope I can get more creative with chapter names as time goes on... I've been writing psychology papers the past 4 years... can you imagine how it has killed my creativity?)
> 
> (F/N) means FRIEND NAME in this.  
> (Y/N) means YOUR NAME in this.  
> All characters depicted including yourself are 18+ unless otherwise stated or if the character is Hat Kid/Mustache Girl/etc.

Some things are meant to be left untouched and unbothered, but your friend had no worries when they ended Subcon forest. The intention was the have an overnight camping spree while pulling out a Ouija board to test if there really were spirits lurking in the forest. It was a cool idea, until it happened to you on your birthday. You didn’t agree to it, but you sure as hell were tricked into coming along.

Your friend pushed you along a path during the day talking about the adventures you’d have and all the great fun that they would ALL end up having. You could care less about their giggles as you walked for what seemed hours on end until you came to an immediate stop at the front of the forest that had tall pines that seemed to pierce the darkening sky. You could smell a feint whiff of smoke, but immediately disregarded it thinking someone lived nearby. You turned to your friends who were staring at the gaping forest entrance, perhaps having second thoughts about the whole ordeal.

“Well? You guys brought me here. It’s my birthday. Let’s go, please.” You said with an annoyed tone. You had about three or so friends that tagged with, all who were incredulously naïve and easily startled. They were all good individuals, however. That’s why you became friends with them in the first place, all coming from different places. It was nice they would do something with you, but you didn’t expect it to be… well, this considering you weren’t a fan of Ouija boards or camping.

“Yeah, yeah (Y/N). I was just thinking; do we have an escape plan?” One of your friends chirped as if this whole ordeal was about to go down in flames.

“Was I supposed to come up with the escape plan? You guys brought me here.” You sighed while pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance. You quickly dropped the attitude as one of your friends quickly reassured the friend about an escape plan which was to run immediately and hide in a tent. It was dumb and seemed like a cop-out to facing the realities of this world and what the forest may bring. You didn’t really care either way, you were already there. Why escape anyway? Did your friends know something you didn’t? Perhaps so.

You all continued your way to the depths of the forest. The passage way becoming run-down as you took more steps. The forest becoming dark. It was almost enchanting in a way that it didn’t scare you. You’ve never really been in this forest and have never heard much about it. You perhaps heard about it while visiting Mafia Town in passing, but nothing was solid. You heard dramatic interpretations of the forest saying it was loitered with evil critters, but nothing too serious. You didn’t believe in ghosts all too much. You were spiritual, sure, but nothing too dramatic. You were trying to think of possible things that this forest could offer you until one of your friends snapped you out of your daydream.

“(Y/N) we were planning to set up here next to this pine tree since there’s a wide area we can use to start building a fire and getting all camped up!” They said cheerfully. You smiled at their enthusiasm and went on to help them set up what they had going on.

The whole set-up was brilliant, but not stylish. It was effective in the form of camping, but if you were to look at it from afar it would look like a preschooler just made their first pillow fort with their sister. It looked like a disaster. A usable disaster.

After completing the necessary tasks you put your hands on your hips and smiled to yourself, proud of the work you had done. Until one of your friends pointed at you and demanded you go seek firewood. By yourself.

“Are you fucking kidding me? This forest is dark, and you want me to scavenge for usable firewood. That’s funny... Why should the birthday person do that work anyway?” You did a half-laugh out of irritation.

“I mean, it’s not that bad, plus this forest looks safe and it doesn’t look like there’s...” They paused for a moment before continuing, “… anything dangerous!”

_That’s really suspicious._ You thought to yourself before accepting they would grab firewood. You turned with cellphone in pocket despite there being no service and a pair of gloves to get into the wood nearby.

You traveled for about 10 minutes until you came to another clearing where you found yourself picking up sticks. It was a mundane task that was driving you nuts until you heard whispers flooding your ears. You dropped the sticks immediately and whipped around to survey your surroundings. The sound stopped as soon as you noticed it. “Maybe I’m just having anxiety… due to being alone...?” You laughed to yourself until a feint whisper sing-songed in your ears.

“I don’t think so, kiddo~ Now why would you EVER think you’re alone in my forest?”

You immediately spun in a full circle trying to find the source of the sound, but to no avail. You grabbed your sticks and high-tailed it out of that clearing. You thought it was weird that something that sounded so real would ring in your ears the way it did. Your cheeks flushed red as you ran to find your disaster of a campsite in the darkness. You finally saw a light in the distance hoping it was your friends who maybe found sticks on their own. Thank goodness by the time you got there, your fears were immediately laid to rest. However, you did not speak about the incident knowing your friends would make fun of you.

\--

The day seemed to roll on forever as the sky did not change nor did the smells of burning wood in the distance. It was odd being in a forest so captivating yet so mysterious at the same time. It made you shiver just thinking about how you were alone with friends in such an acrid forest.

“Alright, (Y/N).” One of your friends started as you were around a campfire gazing at the wonderful flames that danced in front of you. “Time to play with the Ouija board we got JUST for this occasion.”

“Excuse me?” You knew this was coming as it was discussed before but didn’t think they would want to start it at this time. “So, what are we going to get out of playing a make-believe game where you move the planchet by yourself?” You asked.

The same friend’s lips began to curl into a sinister smile. “Do you not know (Y/N)?”

“I don’t. Some insight would be fantastic!” You said with a sarcastic tone that could be heard a million miles away.

“Well, this is Subcon forest, is it not? This is all where the goons are! Ghosts. A shadow that is said to drag you into the pits of hell!” The friend quite clearly put on their story-telling voice. Acting scary was the least of their worries. They were quite clearly fucking with you. You weren’t having it.

“Wow that is SO funny (F/N)!” You continued, “And then wh-“. You were cut off by them placing a finger on your lips.

“Some say this shadow is a DASHING PRINCE! However, it is said he is quite nutty. After his death he became extremely malevolent and… and…” They finally stuttered and gave up when you showed no emotion to their little story-telling anecdote.

“Lets just get this over with.” You sighed, feeling somewhat tired.

Your friends began to form a circle just outside their small fire pit they had made. A few winds blew through which made it somewhat hard to keep the board down until one of your friends grabbed a few rocks to hold down the edges.

“Alright.” The friend who told the story huffed as they had their hands on the planchette. “Hello! Is there anyone here?”

You watched quizzically, waiting for the punchline to come in and an additional friend would come behind you to scare you. Nothing. Just more wind, but it brushed underneath your neck this time. It made you shiver to the point where you pulled out a sweater that was laying next to your friend’s butt.

It was silently a few minutes until the planchet began to move to “YES”. Everyone started to lose their minds except you. You thought it was some funny joke yet again. Your only response to the whole thing was, “Very funny!”

Your friend rolled their eyes at you before continuing what they were doing. “Thank you for responding! It means a whole lot!” They paused for a brief moment like they were actually talking to someone in front of them before continuing again, “I guess I don’t know where to start… Are you good or bad?”

_That was it. That was the dumbest question._ You thought to yourself. _Are you good or bad?_ If there was an entity out there who was smart enough, they wouldn’t answer the question and move to GOODBYE. However, that was far from the case. The planchette began moving, but not to yes or no. It started to make a word saying DEBATABLE. You immediately felt a shiver go down your spine. That was incredibly stupid. Your friends had to be doing something, but they were freaking out in the most real way. You were on the sidelines for now.

The friend took a hard swallow before nervously asking their next question, “Oh haha, very cool! I- um, do you have a name…. debatable soul?”

You stared at the board, two minutes passed before the small piece of ornate wood began moving again. It spelled out S, N, and A before stopping.

“Who names their kid Sna?” One of your friends who wasn’t holding the planchet laughed.

There was a pause before the little key started moving again over T, C, H, E, and R. You were dumbfounded. _Snatcher? That sounds kind of stupid. They must have a name. It sounds so… edgy. I’m pretty sure (F/N) is just fucking with you._ You thought to yourself before slapping your hands on your knees in annoyance.

“Well this is dumb, I’m out. I need to go get a breath of fresh air or else I’m going to suffocate from these tricks and stupidity.” You got up with that statement and started to turn, letting new air enter your lungs and let embers and ash out.

“Wait, wait, wait (Y/N) you can’t leave without saying goodb-“. Immediately, the friend who was talking with the planchet disappeared into nothingness as a purple haze engulfed your vision. It seemed like the entire campsite disappeared in an instant, along with your friend.

“AHAHAHAHAH. They’re right, kid! You can’t leave without saying GOODBYE!!! AHAHAHHAHA!” A large and tall being appeared before you with a pumpkin face except for the oval eyes. Spikes which looked like they doubled as hair around where the neck seemed to be. They simply looked like a large noodle with arms who had beautiful purple hues all over their person.

You immediately were knocked off your feet and were on the ground in a daze, trying to make sense of the situation. You were confused and scared, but also intrigued. Nothing could compare to the feeling of helplessness in the sudden situation. 

“Who… what….” You panicked, trying to search with your hands on the ground for a stick to defend yourself with, but nothing. You immediately turned back to the demon who was looking straight at you with constant amusement in their face.

“FOOOOOOOOL! You think you can honestly grab something to fend me off? HA! That’s hysterical! Really! That’s actually quite FUNNY given you’re just a human!” He snickered while mocking you. It was the most intense voice you had heard in forever besides your mom yelling at you to do the dishes. Except, this felt…. Better?

“Of course! Sticks work… wonders? Yeah?” You tried to humor the situation that you felt you knew you couldn’t get out of.

  
“I’m real impressed, you can’t find a stick and yet you try to make a joke of your IMPENDING DEATH?”

You had no words for this man until you quickly came out with something else a little more believable, “Are you what was causing the Ouija board to move…?”

“Yeah yeah!” You could feel the eyeroll coming from this shadow’s person even though you couldn’t see it, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Did you honestly think a group of adults could waltz into my forest, pull out equipment, and try to summon a demon from a little board game? Sure. You got my attention, but now you must pay the price, kiddo.” He moved in to get into your face to get a good look at what he was dealing with before pulling back.

“I was thinking about perhaps just ending your sad, miserable, and little life by just taking your soul and eating it. I have a different idea in mind though, kid! Let me cut you a deal you CAN’T TURN DOWN! AAHAHAHA.” He pulled back and laughed while slapping a clawed hand to his head. This man, thing, or whatever it was truly not there. However, it immediately clicks with you that you were dealing with the entity playing with your friends as he moved over to pick up the Ouija board and looking at you with piercing eyes.

 _The Snatcher_.


	2. The Contract

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The price has now been paid, with your soul! Also, with a few chores to do which include... making dinner for the population of Subcon Forest? Huh?

It was apparent that the situation you were in, you were not going to get out of unscathed. You immediately began to think about your friends and what was happening outside this purple bubble the Snatcher had you in. After realizing this creature’s name, you uttered the words, “The Snatcher” under your breath.

The Snatcher heard this and immediately turned to look at you but didn’t remark at you saying his name. He figured you were rather smart, but not smart enough to get out of this. “So, kiddo, as I was saying… Today is your lucky day and you get to live! At what price though…” He thought with a pensive look on his face. “Oh, I know! Your soul!” His face turned back into a smile as soon as the look of terror came across your face. He added on, “Or- you can live, but your friends die. I don’t take your soul and you get out of my forest. My little servants can take care of your eyesore that you set up on my land.”

There were no questions asked with this shadow. He meant business and your friends had lives meant more to you than anything. So, you immediately went with the first best answer without giving much thought about what the consequences of accepting his offer to take your soul. “The first option, I guess?”

“I guess? Oh, come on kid, you need to be sure. Not try to prance around the bush and think you’ll get out of this by not coming to a decision. Lives are on the line~ AHAHAHA!” His voice bellowed through the small space you two were in.

“I mean, yes? But what happens after th-“

The Snatcher immediately cut you off, “I wouldn’t worry too much about the specifics… I got it covered. Your friends? I’ll have my little minions escort those fools out of my forest kicking and screaming…. OR DYING. HA!” He immediately seemed to get a kick out of his own joke which you did not find very funny to begin with. “But you… you’re coming with me. We got work to do and things to handle! Of course, it’s teamwork. I’m the team, you’re work. AHAHAHA!”

Immediately a contract appeared within your peripheral view. Your eyes glazed over the contents before looking up at the figure towering over you. “What…?”

“So, we have a deal, kiddo?” The Snatcher’s voice was velvety as he came down from his joke from before.

A feather pen now came into existence and went straight into your hand. This was going to be hell and you were about to go missing. You were also about to discover that you may not just be spiritual anymore, but rather have a belief in the paranormal now that you were essentially working for them. You signed off your name with a few strokes before the contract and pen ceased to exist. Suddenly as that happened you felt your body become weighted and hollow. You felt an exceedingly empty compared to before, but you knew why. Your soul has quite literally left your body.

Your little adventure was about to begin because your friends decided it was a good idea to summon a supernatural being in Subcon Forest.

\--

Over the course of the day, The Snatcher gave you a run down about your contracts that you were going to sign in the future and the contract you were now going to be working on. The forest winded into deeper paths that you could only describe to yourself as daunting. You almost fell into a trance as you walked while listening to The Snatcher. Until finally he gave you a hard slap on the back pushing you out of your daze and almost face first into the ground.

“And that is all! It sure would be a terrible fate for you if you would DIE during these contracts, but your soul is mine now. So, I suppose I need to keep you alive in _some_ capacity.” He looked down towards you until he realized that you had not been listening. He picked you up by the hood of your sweater and turned you towards him.

You squirmed at him picking you and felt everything tug upwards when he grabbed you. He had your full attention as you were powerless. You pretended to nod at what he was saying so he would put you down and you could continue on your way, but he wasn’t going to accept that right away.

“Now kiddo, I’m going to put a copy of our little contract in your hoodie pocket. Keep it very close to you! HAHAHA! That way I can identify your poor soulless body on the forest floor! Now… get going. You’re an eyesore. Seek me out at my tree when you are finished and perhaps, we’ll go from there.” His said as he put you down and scooted you off into the depths of the forest.

Within an instant he was gone, and you were left with nothing but your wits and confusion. You quickly put your hands all over your body to check if this was a real experience you were having. You were, you just didn’t want to believe it. You wanted to turn around in a panic to escape this forest, but you knew that this wasn’t something you could easily run away from. You stopped slapping yourself after a moment and quickly searched your pockets for the copy of the contract which you found in your back pocket instead of your hoodie pocket. You know he was just talking about this, but you didn’t listen. You mainly listened to his words as they came from his mouth, but you didn’t really make sense of it. Something was oddly entrancing about his demeanor. You quickly shook the thought away and opened the scroll to read the contents.

**CONTRACT:**

[ ] AQUAINTANCE YOURSELF WITH THE BEINGS OF SUBCON FOREST

[ ] MAKE A TERRIBLE ATTEMPT TO GIVE THEM DINNER (I CANNOT TONIGHT AS I AM BUSY READING)

[ ] CLEAN UP ANY MESSES YOU MAY FIND ALONG THE WAY, MAKE IT SNIPPY!

I HEREBY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO DO THE FOLLOWING CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS IN A TIMELY MANNER, OTHERWISE DEATH SHOULD OCCUR AS PENALTY FOR WRONGDOING

SIGNED,

[Y/N]

You stared at this contract for a moment and turned over the scroll that had additional writing starting with something highly unprofessional, “I hereby totally agree to do…”. You suddenly felt incredibly angry and amused at the situation you found yourself in before rolling up the contract. You jammed it into your pocket and sighed. If this got your soul back, sure. You’ll make a miserable attempt to make dinner for whoever he was talking about. You stood up straight and began walking down this dark path with full understanding that there were things out here to harm you. Or so you think.

\--

As an hour rolled by you found yourself coming up to a bridge with a few beings that looked like crows with glowing eyes in the distance. As you came closer you realized that was far from the case, these were little individuals cloaked in darkness with a glowing golden eye. One of them noticed you before you could hide behind a bush out of fear. They started to waddle up to your bush of choice.

“I wouldn’t hide. You’re kinda surrounded.” The being said in a nasally tone before reaching your bush and stared at you from two feet away. “Also, we can’t really hurt ya because we don’t have many powers. Boss has those.”

You stared back at the little creature. His words seemed empty and without meaning until it hit you that you were several feet taller than them. You moved out of hiding and into view of the dark fiend. “How can I simply believe you have no powers?” You questioned with false confidence. You were scared as hell despite the height difference.

The creature sighed and went up to your leg and gave it a light punch before looking up at you. In reaction you jumped back, almost thinking you were gravely injured. You realized that you weren’t but kept your distance from the tiny being. You began to feel a sense of normalcy for just a moment but kept your guard up. You decided that you would trust these aliens for the time being. “I guess I believe you. Don’t expect me to trust you, though.” You said defensively.

“I’m not really asking for trust. I’m just a minion of the boss.” They said nonchalantly before putting a tiny hand out. “What did he send ya here for anyway? Show me what he gave you.”

You searched your pockets for the contract and pulled it out. You crouched down and gave the little being the contract hesitantly. The being grabbed the scroll and rolled it out and looked at you after scanning the document over a few times. “Are you joking? This is what our boss wants?” The critter chuckled to himself before shoving the document back into your chest. “Ever since Hat Kid raided our forest and did a bunch of work for our boss… it’s just been raining corpses because there’s nothing to do. So, you must be special for him to even GIVE you a job…” The ball of golden darkness looked you in the face, waiting for your response.

You were flabbergasted at the word special as it left the little demon’s nonexistent mouth. “Special? I don’t see how I could be special, but it’s obvious he still has work he wants done… “

“I wouldn’t be too happy about it. Anyway, ya gotta converse with us? Well, you already have one down out of… maybe fifty. Give or take. Some of my buddies disappear from day to day without much of a trace. I’ll take you to my tree home.” The little spirit offered his tiny hand as if to shake it. What was this? A business endeavor?

You hesitantly clasped the entirety of the dark hand before reeling back realizing how cold it was. The tiny ghost laughed before turning and walking to the bridge. “Come on, ya gotta lot of work to do!” They chirped. You nodded in response and followed close behind into the greenery that was the forest.

\--

As the darkness of the forest hugged your figure you noticed peculiar beings as you passed. The little being called themselves a minion while the others were dwellers. It became a fantasy world to you as you recall to reading _Narnia_ as a child. Nothing quite felt like being an outsider looking into the world of the supernatural. It was walking onto a different plane of existence, yet you were on the same plane you had always lived on. The cold air you breathed in froze your lungs while your knuckles became red with heat that flowed into them which reminded you that you were still alive and not dead, thankfully.

The little being walked through a small forest village where the critters scattered about, and some watched you with leery eyes. They were suspicious but continued with their own duties that the Snatcher assigned to them. Finally, the little minion reached for the door of their little dead tree home and walked in. They turned to hold the door for you, but you looked at them with a flat face. You stepped under the doors threshold because the opening was too small for you. It felt like you were in a dollhouse designed by a kindergartener who was obsessively into gothic taste.

“Boss wants ya to make dinner for us. That’s great and all, but to be honest. We lost our real lives a long time ago. We don’t really eat. I’m not sure why he’s giving ya busy work like this.” The critter thought out loud. They turned to you again looking for an answer to your predicament. “You could make us mud pies and I’m sure that would qualify. Joking aside, see what ya can find in my cabinets inside this home and make enough for around ten minions? I’m not sure. It’s your contract, not mine! Hehe.” They laughed to themselves while you stood quietly in confusion and disdain. They waved at you as they made their exit leaving you alone in a stranger’s home.

You began searching the cabinets. There was absolutely nothing aside from smaller versions of the purple fruits you saw outside. You pulled some out until you noticed a last one on the top shelf which you couldn’t even reach yourself. You try to find some item to help you up but had nothing. You finally gave in and started to jump until the fruit fell on your head and landed on the floor. Considering what the minion said before, a bruised apple shouldn’t kill someone who’s already dead. Plus, everyone you’ve met in this forest has been dead for a while. So, what do they have to whine about? This would be their dinner, but it felt more like a handout.

You kicked the door open to a hoard of Subconites standing outside and managed to smack a small one in the face who for some reason, stood behind the door. “Y-your dinner is… fruit? A nutritional meal indeed?” Complete the contract and get out of here, you reminded yourself as you laughed nervously. It made your anxiety even worse when you couldn’t see anyone’s expression.

A dweller came up and grabbed a fruit from you without saying anything. You didn’t even need to give a handout. Soon others followed as you got down on your knees and handed out what you had found one by one until you were gone. There wasn’t one word spoken between you or Subcon’s inhibitors. You slowly got up after you handed out your goods, wiping the dirt off your jeans. You didn’t know what to do now, but you knew you were tired. You had no idea what time it was. You were also hungry yourself but try to fight back the hunger pangs. You bid the dwellers and minions goodbye and tried to find your way to a place that would be safe to put your head down.

A few minutes passed as you walked in a stupor around the forest. You came to a tree that stood above all others in the forest that had a small pond surrounding the roots. A singular thorned root led to the inside of the tree which was lit up a brilliant orange. There was an abnormally large red plush chair there for the taking. It looked like someone lived inside this tree, but you didn’t care. You wanted to sleep. You quickly made your way over the root until you climbed into the large chair. You laid horizontally with your head against one rest and your feet just barely hanging off the other. It was comfy, but oddly warm like the rest of the room which felt like it hugged you. It felt homey, but not for a human. Your eyes began to droop into sleep before you saw a dark figure approach. They sounded angry, but you didn’t care because your needs came first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the first two chapters within two days while I waited to get an email for AO3, so chapter 3 might be out in a few days or next week. I work the lot of coming weeks, so my time for fun is scarce!


	3. You Didn't Forget About Me, Did You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You completed your first contract and you move into your second contract. Now things start to get more personal after you invade a certain spirits home? What doom should befall on you now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIED. I actually wrote this like a mad man! This has fluff if you try to look at it from an angle?

The Snatcher was throwing a fit, yelling profanities as he saw you bound up into your tree getaway. By the time he reached the tree he had noticed you were already a victim of slumber on his chair. He panicked as he looked at you, not knowing how to handle the situation further. He tried to put a claw on your shoulder and gave you a hesitant shake. “Kiddo, this isn’t a vacant seat!” He hissed in a low tone, secretly hoping maybe you wouldn’t hear. “Oh, come on.” He finally gave up when he wasn’t getting anywhere with the shaking. He looked around his small abode, his eyes darting from his night stand with the Ouija board he had taken from your friends to his bookcase.

He looked at the ceiling before whispering sweet nothings to himself. The Snatcher looked back at you and picked you up while you stayed in a deep slumber. _They are just like my dearest. How annoying._ He thought in disgust before setting you on the floor next to his chair. He hurriedly looked around for a possible blanket to keep you warm. The Snatcher frantically pulled things from behind corners, but all that came out were small scraps of old contracts and a badge Hat Kid had dropped from months before. He sighed with contempt for the human he should’ve just murdered along with their friends, but now he had to take care of them. Why couldn’t he think then when all those other times with other poor saps? What made this time so different with you? He pondered before getting back to work on finding a source of warmth. He finally dropped what he was doing and decided to leave his tree temporarily to find you something.

\--

Snatcher returned with some blankets that were dirtied by the earth that they were abandoned on. He quickly shook them out so the dirt would be lessened, but he still knew it would feel slimy and gross. It was warmth, so the human should be grateful, correct? He got down and started to pull up the blanket to your shoulders. You squirmed and made a face of discomfort that quickly faded in a few seconds. The Snatcher sighed in relief, finally, he can get his dad chair back and he could read his book in silence despite there being an adult lying on his floor. He floated up into his chair and leaned over to grab a copy of _How to Kill Kids_ and started from the beginning. Over the course of the few hours he sat reading, he periodically looked over from his readings to check on you despite having contempt towards you for stealing his seat.

\--

Hours passed and you started to ache and found the need to use the bathroom. Your eyes fluttered open with ease despite having sleepies in your eyes. You looked around before sitting up, seeing that you were covered with a disgusting blanket and you were on the floor. You swore that you were in a chair before falling into a deep sleep. You sat up and kicked the blanket off you finding that there were specs of dirt all over your body.

“Finally awake, kid?” The Snatcher asked.

You were startled by the sudden voice above you. You looked up and you immediately felt your anxiety kick up to the max. All blood felt like it drained from your face when you realized you just trespassed into a monster’s home. “I- um..” You felt your throat seize, preventing you from saying anything else.

“Aw you didn’t forget about me did you?” The Snatcher said with a mocking tone before setting his book down on the rest. He got up from his chair to hover over you. “You… didn’t forget about me right?” This time there was uncertainty in his voice which made you do a double-take.

“No… no…” You trailed off.

“Well, if you didn’t. I think you would know how to set up your own little hide-out and realize its mine. Color me impressed that you managed to take over my home in the process!” He half-laughed in an annoyed tone. He reached down to pick you up by the hood again and plopped you down in his chair and brought up the contract you had with him.

“I wasn’t sure if this was abandoned or not, I mean… no one was here and…” You trailed off, looking at him as he sat you down in his chair now. He stared at you with an empty expression, not that he had any changing expressions that you noticed physically.

“The inside of my home is lit up orange. There’s this chair, a few belongings and even a book! This is trespassing, trooper. You know I could have you reprimanded and fined for that…. Or I could try and push for a felony.” He stared at you, his voice unwavering.

You stared at him with confusion now, he was talking nonsense. “Felony?” You asked in the most confused tone you could manage. “I’ve never heard of a forest having laws made….”

“DID YOU JUST TELL ME HOW I SHOULD RUN MY FOREST KIDDO?” The Snatcher became obscenely offended. “I’ll have you know that I AM THE LAW. This is MY FOREST! (Y/N) you are quite the disrespectful human!” He huffed.

“How did you know- oh. The contract.” You stared at the contract he previously brought into existence. “Can we talk about this now instead of felonies? I want to go home.” You said with a tinge of annoyance.

“Oh, you’ll learn real soon that this isn’t a joke and I’m actually very serious. For now, though, we’ll talk about your little OOPSY you had yesterday.” He pointed at one of the terms on the contract. “I recall you having to talk to my minions. You did this, but only with one. The rest you gave out apples to. This is fine, except that’s not dinner. It’s a disgrace. You also hammered one of my poor minions with a door! You’re very cruel, kiddo.” He put on a smile, but you could feel him becoming irritated with every word that came from his person. You sat still, knowing that you would have to try this whole contract over again.

“You’re lucky I’m keeping you alive, little one.” He pressed a claw to your forehead and pushed you back into his chair. His aura becoming menacing as he pulled his clawed hand back and put checks on the contract. You had a feeling despite the contract being over that he wasn’t going to let you off like that.

“Since it seems like you can handle many things with that… small human body of yours, you’ll have to do another contract. It’s just how this forest works. Now, I want you do something a little personal for me since you trespassed in my home looking for shelter. If I could hang you from my ceiling as a contract, I would HAHAHA!” He laughed before bringing a new contract into existence.

You read over the contents of the contract. You felt like you looked at it for a thousand years until your eyes drifted up to look up at The Snatcher’s. “Can I have a pen?” You asked.

“Needy.” He simply said, bringing a feathered pen in existence.

You grasped the pen firmly in the hand you wrote with and penned in your name under the contracts contents that stated the following:

**CONTRACT**

[ ] I WILL CLEAN THE SNATCHER’S HOME AND RID IT OF MY SCENT (CAN YOU EVEN DO THAT? HAHA)

[ ] I WILL ORGANIZE THE BOOKSHELF IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

  * IF THERE IS ANYTHING OUT OF PLACE, I WILL BE SUBJECTED TO TORMENT



[ ] I WILL MAKE A POOR ATTEMPT TO APPEASE THE SNATCHER BY TALKING TO HIM (OR JUST DIE, THAT WOULD BE VERY NEAT!)

SIGNED,

(Y/N)!

You sighed and handed the contract back to the Prince of Darkness and he let out a low guttural laugh. “Then it’s a deal!” He smirked and brought cleaning supplies into existence. “Get to work, kiddo. Your time is valuable to me… HAHAHAH! Just joking, you wish.” He picked you up again with ease and placed you down on the hardwood floor as he took a seat back in his chair. Your stomach growled as he placed you down and he made a confused face.

Your cheeks went hot with embarrassment from the sound that came from your stomach.

“Okay, kid. I can tell you’re hungry by whatever weird… noises came from your human stomach. I don’t usually do this, but I’ll reward you with food if you finish. I don’t know what it’s like to eat human food anymore, but I’ll find something. I guess. Don’t take it the wrong way, though.” He sneered at you.

You nodded quickly but realized in a hot moment that he said what it’s like to eat human food. _Was he human before?_ You thought as you started to go grab the cleaning bucket with its required cleaning supplies. You quickly got to work, scrubbing the place clean under The Snatcher’s supervision.

As you made your way over to the end table where your friends Ouija board sat, you turned around. “What happened to my friends?”

“They left like I said they would. My minions did their job, now you do yours.” He was stoic, not really wanting to answer questions. He was looking for a conversation, not twenty questions. “How did you enjoy sitting on death’s seat?” He asked as he saw you getting back to work.

_Clever_ , you thought to yourself once again. “Better than sleeping in a tent.” You remarked.

“It was so temporary though, I had to put you on the ground. I’m not going to apologize for that. You deserved it for intruding on my property.” He bit back.

“I mean you gave me a blanket.” You said, not realizing you were faced away from him. His face contorted when you spoke.

“I… I did not give you blanket. I only give death wishes and fools something to think about while their corpses do my bidding. You think I’d have time to give you a blanket?” He lied through his haunting smile. “My minions said you were a hard sleeper.”

“Right. I’m sure that’s what happened.” You rolled your eyes as you dropped a rag into your bucket. _Though, how could you say that him or his minions did that anyway?_ You were asleep. You shrugged it off and moved onto a different topic. “So, what is this place anyway? My friends talked me into coming here and then you showed up and busted my birthday.”

“It was your birthday? Well happy, ever so belated, _birthday_. You’re lucky that someone like me even picked you up. I probably saved you from insufferable boredom! If there’s anyone who gets to murder poor saps in this forest- it’s me. Not someone’s friends…” He laughed to himself. The way he said birthday to you made you shiver. It was said in a way that made you dread even having a birthday. It sounded beyond menacing.

“I don’t think I want to say thanks to my kidnapper.” You retorted. “Can you please tell me about where I am though?” You asked, sounding sincere.

“You don’t know anything about the place you’re in and you agreed to have your buddies bring you here? Not even a little research? Considering how the times have changed and I’m stuck in this forest, there’s bound to be technology like flying boats.” He was just as confused as you, wondering why you had not done anything to remedy your confusion. “Just clean the bookshelf and maybe I’ll tell you.”

You quickly grabbed the feather duster and made your way to the bookshelf. You looked at the arrangement of books he had ranging from law books to murder novels. You waited for him to speak, knowing he had his eyes on you.

He summoned a small version of the purple fruits on the nightstand behind you as food as your reward, but let you do the bookshelf first. “Well, this place is Subcon Forest. It’s my home. It’s my subject’s home. And the home to my…” He paused. _What do I even call my dearest?_ He searched his thoughts for a moment before continuing, “My previous lover?” He didn’t know what to say. It sounded silly. He still had a heart full of love for Queen Vanessa, even if she did not seem to love him.

“Either way! It’s my home. It’s my forest. I don’t like people like you who decide to loiter on my lands and think its hip and cool! If it were my choice, I’d set up some world expenditure to ban all those who trespass instead of murdering them. Here we are though! An anarchy run by yours truly.” He placed a hand on his chest triumphantly before placing it down again on the rest.

You listened to his short story, but your brain was hung up on previous lover. _Did she still live here? Is she dead?_ You didn’t know so you continued working and didn’t want to ask because it was rude to begin with. You put the feather duster down and started to pull books from the shelf to start his collection over and give them a new alphabetical place. You decided to spring a new conversation, “What is up with the law talk you have going on? And all these… law books? These are seriously outdated.”

“Well isn’t that a rude way of asking someone about their interests? My dearest business partner, I am a lawyer.” He said proudly.

“A dead lawyer?” You asked, pulling out a book titled, _High Conflict People in Legal Disputes_ by Bill Eddy.

“Excuse me? I still can practice even in the afterlife!” He sounded offended you would pitch such an atrocious statement.

“On your minions?” You put the book back in a place that would be the most fit in your organization.

“Well excuse me princess know-it-all, I’ll have you know that my minions get divorced… from time to time. I can be a lawyer for that!” The Snatcher huffed and folded his arms over his chest. “I would never think book organization would be such a difficult task for someone like yourself!”

You were confused at the idea of minions getting divorced. An image of a Snatcher appeared in your mind wearing a suit while two minions were bickering over who had custody of a noose. It creeped you out, so you tried to shake off the thought. You picked up another book, this one felt old and withered to the touch, practically turning into dust in your hands. “You have old books, Snatcher.” You commented.

“Kid, do you even realize how old I am? I am older than your probably deceased mom’s mom! Probably even older than that. I keep things that are important to me. Plus, that book…” He unfolded his arms to grab the book right out of your hands, a paper being ripped in the process. The Snatcher didn’t mind either way as he looked at it. “This is the first book I was told to read during my studies. This really determined whether or not I wanted to be a lawyer. Not like your tiny brain could handle such great literature, anyway. Plus, I can’t leave this damn forest to go to a bookstore.” He said as he handed the book back to you.

“I’m sure your mind would be absolutely blown if you read an ebook rather than this old junk.” You responded. You took the old book and put it in it’s place on the shelf. Soon enough you had organized the entire shelf. You turned back to him, but you saw the fruit first which you lunged for on the table. You picked up the plump purple fruit and immediately bit into it, letting the juices spill a little onto your chin, savoring the sweet taste.

“… I didn’t even get to say that you could have it yet but go-ahead kiddo. Starvation isn’t a great way to DIE.” He snickered as he pulled up your contract and signing it off again. He noticed you eating the fruit savagely. It reminded him of when Vanessa would eat anything in a heartbeat that he made personally for her. “Do you not have the decency to clean yourself?” He said smugly before searching for the rag you had been using and snowballed it at your face.

You caught the rag before it could hit you and finished the fruit. You cleaned your face quickly. “I’ve been starved, dude.” You said.

“Hmph. So, anyway, I like you doing all my simple clerical work. I want you to stay.” The Snatcher stared at you as you finished cleaning yourself which made you drop the rag as he said stay.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, I have a place I pay rent at in Mafia Town. A job. Friends. I’m sure my friends are filing a police report as we speak.” You spoke with false confidence yet again seeing if that would change his mind.

“Honestly kiddo, you think that all matters to me?” The Snatcher asked as he got up from his chair to hover over you. “You think that really matters when you entered my forest thinking a silly game of Ouija would get you out unscathed? And police officers coming here? How could they possibly be above the law of a prince? PFFFT! Give me a break. I’m hungry, too, for souls. I’m sure a few beefy cops could feed me for days!” He laughed menacingly as he got closer to you, his hairs sticking out, flared. A purple and blue aura filled the air and a few static shocks surrounded you.

_“You’re not leaving, kiddo.”_


	4. A Life Long Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're staying. This isn't a joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So now I'm heading into territory that would be considered headcanon. If you do not enjoy subtle headcanons that I put in place for The Snatcher, feel free to click off. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the angst and heartbreak? Hmm...
> 
> Also, I try to re-read my chapters for consistency. If I don't catch something that you do, please let me know! By consistency I mean, like, The Snatcher puts you in the chair and then he sits, too. I do not mean to write things like that and it's usually a continuity error on my part. Keep in mind this is my first time writing in forever, too. :)

You wanted to defend yourself, you wanted to do anything but serve him. You were grown, you still had a life to live when his was over. You tried to defend yourself by talking back at him, “Why should I end my life to start yours?”

“My life is already over, why should someone else should keep living when I suffer?” He roared. “All I do everyday is suffer! It hurts being dead every day. It fucking hurts, so guess what? I’ll keep making contracts until I’m satisfied. I’ll make it an obsession. So, sign the next contract and we won’t have a problem, kiddo. Or I’ll make you hurt more than you already do.” He placed a claw on your forehead again before shoving you back and bringing a new contract up. This time it was flaming blue because of his anger radiating towards you.

CONTRACT

[ ] YOU’RE STAYING

[ ] THIS ISN’T A JOKE

[ ] GO TO QUEEN VANESSA’S MANOR (ACTUALLY MY HOME, BUT YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT) AND PICK UP SOMETHING FROM THE ATTIC, AND INVESTIGATE WHAT THAT HAG IS DOING

[ ] I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR COOKIE HANGOVERS (THEY ARE THE BEES KNEES)

[ ] DID I MENTION THAT YOU’RE STAYING?

OR

[ ] DIE, YOUR CHOICE OF EXECUTION ON THIS ONE!

SIGNED,

…

You felt every bit of your headspace flood with fear. This contract actually meant business. You firmly grasped the paper in your hands. The feeling of threads under your thumbs made you tremble. “What if I decline?” You asked, looking at his terrifying expression.

“Did you not read the second part? You can choose to just die.” He said. “Sign it, I don’t have time.” He hissed.

A pen appeared, you grabbed it. “Will ever get to leave?” You asked again.

“Soooo many QUESTIONS! You’re staying until I find you OBSOLETE.” The Snatcher had no time for your games. “Sign or I will kill you.”

You quickly signed the paper and it disappeared as well as the flames and serious atmosphere. The Snatcher pulled back and went back to himself. “Good girl. Skitter along now. My Queen- I mean Queen Vanessa is awaiting your arrival… Or rather that she doesn’t know. It doesn’t matter. You’ll know what to pick up when you see it. Enjoy yourself a little, this time. You’ll find that this forest isn’t all too terrible! HAHAHA! Don’t trip and knock your head on a rock! So long, trooper!” By that time, he had already escorted you out of his home and he had returned to his chair, picking up his book and reading where he left off.

You walked in a stupor. _Alone?_ You felt so alone suddenly. It felt like it clawed you up. You felt like your skin was being tugged in all different directions. You felt like for a moment the entire world was against you. You would never see your friends again, you were probably going to be fired from your host(ess) job from where the Mafia gambled. It felt surreal. You felt like you had been betrayed by everyone who ever loved you. You soon found a resentment towards you friends who brought you there who full well knew of the dangers. _Did they trick you? Did they hate you?_ Or was it just simply all in good faith and being naïve? Did you even want to know the answer? You hugged yourself as you walked. You passed minions and dwellers who talked about your current demeanor.

You started to feel salty tears touch your mouth. You wiped them off as you started to take off into a sprint, hearing the voices of minions pass you by in a flash. You ran aimlessly through the forest which burned and snowed. You came to a stop when you started to get into snowy territory, you could hear a minion telling you that the manor was down a certain path. You let your worries go for the moment you felt snowflakes touch your face, mixing with your tears. You started to walk through the snow and the obstacles in your way. You hated it. You hated the Snatcher and everything he stood for. Fuck being a lawyer and whatever else he was or whatever he may have lied about. “I wish you would die and go to hell. I do.” You whispered to yourself as you pushed through the snow. It was going to be a while before you reached Vanessa’s manor. It was time to buckle up and get ready.

\--

The Snatcher sat and read his books for a while. He messed up your work by placing books in different spots without even realizing it. He ran a clawed hand through his hair tufts, quite clearly frazzled by the situation he put his new captive in. “Why did I even do that.” He said under his breath as he put the book away and got up. He floated over to the Ouija board and put a hand on it before picking it up.

He didn’t know how to feel. He let himself go just slightly. Something hurt on the inside, but he didn’t want to admit it was his true feelings. “That’s so ridiculous. Vanessa, my dearest, how you’ve ruined me.” He glossed over the board again before putting it down. “How can I say my soulmate is waiting for me here, when she sits in my home enjoying the luxuries of being angry all the time?” He talked to himself which made him feel better. It talked him out of his feelings without speaking to minion. “I wish I could’ve seen it before. The bacon, the hair ordeal… I wish I could’ve helped you.” He sighed. “I wish I could’ve healed that broken heart of yours.” The Snatcher sat back in his chair pondering to himself what his life would’ve been like if she didn’t display abnormal personality traits.

“If I could’ve seen it all, my dearest. I would’ve seen to the best therapist… or whatever we had in the day. Something, anything to help you.” He started to become angry within seconds of being sappy to himself. “Oh my fucking Christ, she ruined you! Left you to die! You should’ve run while you could! I should’ve stayed where I studied! But no! My hopeless romantic heart wanted the best for us.” The Snatcher tried to bite back tears as he clenched a clawed fist wishing he could disappear for a split moment. “No, I’m here. I’m my own prince. I am something everyone should be afraid of, even my dearest.” He placed the Ouija board down on his armrest of the chair he sat in. The feelings of worthlessness sinking in ever so slightly.

\--

You finally arrived while a blizzard roared in the cavern in which the manor was situated in. You looked around for an entrance since the front was barred off which led you into a wine cellar. You carefully stepped into the home knowing full well it wasn’t yours. It was deathly cold in the room you were in and the cellar was partially flooded. Your hands felt like they were about to fall off, but you pressed on anyway. You stepped through the water soaking your jeans and feet which also became deathly cold. You noticed shackles on the wall and thought it was an odd appearance in a wine cellar, but you kept your cool. It was just a home owned by some upper-class folks.

You found a door which led to the upper levels of the house. You heard footsteps which you found to be alarming, and you went to hide. You heard a woman’s voice shriek in the distance. You knew that she was Queen Vanessa considering she was the only one that ruled the manor. You quickly slipped into a room connected with a kitchen and hid. Time passed as she entered the room and left. You got up from your hiding space and investigated the current room. You found a family portrait next to the door. You could assume the lovely young lady in the green dress was Vanessa before her downfall and the man next to her was… you didn’t have a clue. You studied the old photo for a moment. The frills on the man vaguely reminded you of Snatcher’s tufts. There’s no way, but at the same time you recalled your friends saying something about a “Handsome Prince”. There was no way The Snatcher could be capable of princedom. He was too much of an asshole to even be considered a prince to ANY degree. You imagined for a moment of The Snatcher in his current state with shining armor holding his hand out to you with a rose in his ghostly mouth. _Yeah no, no way in hell._ You moved on from the painting to figure out your next plan.

You made a timely escape to a room across the way where you found individuals frozen in time. As if nothing had ever happened, but they were covered in ice. You could tell that these people had a look of horror on their face as they met their demise. Queen Vanessa was coming towards the room you were currently in, so you booked it yet again to another door which led upstairs to a new level. You refused to hear her voice despite the small sounds in which made her alluring.

This level had a door down the way that led into a bedroom. You escaped into there while Queen Vanessa was right behind you. You panicked and searched through the rooms, but what you found were notes. You had time to read them as soon as you hid in a spot where she won’t find you for a few short minutes. You hoarded the notes and hid under a bench. You splayed the notes out in front of you, reading them one by one. It was all in what you guess was Vanessa’s handwriting. You wanted to read them in a timely manner, but what you read was all mumbo-jumbo because of the adrenaline being pumped into your veins. You decided to fold up these notes and stash them in your pockets. You could show them to The Snatcher later so you could prove you were snooping in on the “old hag” you were supposed to be investigating.

As soon as the footsteps faded, you searched around the bedroom you were in for any other clues as to the person Vanessa was. Other than the notes, you found nothing. You cautiously made your way across the room, tip-toeing on your frostbitten feet. There was a door that was just a plain color in your view, and you tried to open it with little noise as possible. The door disagreed and made noises anyway, it creaked as you opened it. You peaked your head inside the room, it was dark and only the light from outside illuminated the objects in the room. You side-stepped into the room and closed the door behind you softly.

You looked around noticing that this wasn’t any room connected to the bedroom. It was a nursery for an infant. It was quaint and fitting for a family that seemed happy together. You remembered some words on the contract you were given for this adventure. You didn’t really bother to read the terms before due to your small meltdown earlier. You pulled out a contract from one of your several pockets and read it over. Your fingers hovering over the threaded document. You squinted at one of the terms, “ACTUALLY MY HOME, BUT YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT”. Your heart immediately sunk to the depths of your being. The portrait, this room, and the contract. You looked around as if looking for an answer, but you already had it. “The Snatcher was the prince my friends were talking about?” You muttered to yourself in silence.

For a moment, empathy began to fill yourself. You were never quite the one to feel empathetic in situation like these. You began walking circles in the nursery, taking in everything it had to offer even if the Queen was probably steps behind you waiting to come in and take your life. You put the contract back from where you found it and traced your fingers over the train playset, the crib, and finally the small rosy pink rocking horse. The senses of the room all came together and painted vivid memories that weren’t your own. You could feel happiness, sadness, and anger. You didn’t know whose emotions these were, and it scared you to the core. You didn’t want to be in here anymore. Images of The Snatcher filled your mind. You barely knew the guy for a few days, and he dropped this bombshell on you. He wanted someone like you to come around because maybe he felt his time was invaluable when he was alive. _He wanted someone to know his story, so he chose you?_ You didn’t know, but your anger for him quickly disappeared as you heard a door in the other room open.

You managed to skitter out of the nursery and found the next opening to the final level of the house. You didn’t care at this point if anything creaked. You didn’t feel like yourself, you felt like someone else ever since you pulled all the connections together. You knew you were smart enough to realize this, but were you strong enough to handle a bombshell of someone you barely knew? You mindlessly went through the attic trying to find something that you could bring back to The Snatcher besides the notes you had found. You saw an old chest, but it was already opened. You turned around and were immediately met with a gigantic painting on the wall with crazy eyes. It startled you to the point where you tried to back away from it, but you soon realized it was just a painting. You quickly felt like your body was done with standing. You took a seat and slumped against the open chest. Your hands and feet felt numb. You swore that the skin cracked underneath your feet, so you were probably bleeding in the shoes you wore.

You didn’t care for the dangers of staying, but a small nap wouldn’t hurt, would it? You wanted those feelings of despair to fade and you’d wake up back in the forest, free to go and never return. It’s what you hoped for. You soon felt your body slump and hit the wooden floors, passing out from the pain and shock. Would anyone come save you?


	5. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some feelings become so real they become a dream. They turn your heart into hard stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me, this will all make sense and go with the rest of the story I am trying to tell. It's a plot device, trust me!

“Princess, breakfast is ready!” The Prince called up into the chambers of their home.

“Prince’s shouldn’t yell so loudly, you’ll end up waking up every animal in Subcon Forest.“ The maid said while helping set the table for the Princess’ arrival. The maid was an older woman who had been around The Prince’s side since he was child. She was there for his falls, his cuts, and his bruises. The wrinkles on her face were the dead giveaway that she was well over her fifties, but she still served her favorite young man despite her bones not working like they used to.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, but I want Vanessa to hear me. You know how she’s a hard sleeper and all…” He said with a small smile on his face. “I’m going to wake her. Please continue the preparations.”

“Alright, then.” The maid sighed as she set down teacups around the table while The Prince ushered himself up the steps.

\--

The Prince burst into him and his lovers’ room, just barely out of breath from running up the steps. “My dearest, breakfast is ready!” He huffed, making his way to his sleeping beauty on the bed. He quickly made his way to her side and placed a hand down just before her face. “Princess?” He asked. 

“Hmm?” Vanessa let out a drawn-out yawn before opening her eyes to The Prince. “Hello.” She said tiredly. “Breakfast is ready you say?”

“T’is, my love.” The Prince smiled softly at her, now bringing his hand to her face and moving her stray golden hairs away from her forehead before leaning in to kiss her. “Let’s go and enjoy it together and start the day with the time we have left.”

Vanessa loved the way he spoke to her, everything felt right in just that instance. The rays of the sun coming from the window that hit The Prince’s hair let out a dreamy auburn glow. He was everything to her, and she did not want that to go away. She loved him. “I’ll be down soon. Please wait for me.” She responded.

The Prince nodded and gave her one more kiss on the forehead before departing the room, leaving her there. Vanessa could hear him head down the stairs before she sat up and taking a big stretch.

Today was the day that Vanessa would have to part ways with her lover for quite some time while he studied with another woman in a different region. She didn’t want him to leave, but he let her have the luxuries of staying in his home while he was away. She hated it. As she was sitting up, she balled her fists, getting angry that he was even leaving. “I hate you… but I love you. I don’t want you to leave me... Is he doing this because he hates me?” She wondered out loud before swinging her feet out of bed. She made her way to her wardrobe and pulled out her greenest attire for the day so maybe she could sway him from leaving her alone. “He won’t be able to resist…” She smiled before getting ready for the day.

After she finished, she walked over to the nightstand next to the bed with her diary there. She picked it up along with a feathered pen and wrote down her feelings of the morning.

**DIARY ENTRY #45**

_I’m so mad he is leaving me. Will he cheat on me while he is somewhere else? Is he doing this because I’m ugly? I’m sure it’s because I’m not adequate. I want to keep him chained up so he won’t leave me… but that would be bad right? Maybe not. I hate him for leaving. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I swear, I want to end my life if he leaves me here alone. I can’t do it… I love him so much. Why do I even feel this way? I think I’m right for feeling this way. Anyone would feel the way I would feel right now!_

Vanessa placed down the pen and slammed her diary shut and tucked it underneath their bed before heading downstairs for breakfast.

“Princess!” The Prince exclaimed as he sat at the dining table with the maid. He was giddy and excited to see her, he always thought she was beautiful. The way her golden hair bounced as she walked. Her eyes, her everything. Watching her just come down the stairs was a treat for his eyes, he loved her beyond words.

Vanessa smiled as she came down the steps and took a seat at the table next to her prince and immediately started to pick food out and hand it around the table. She saw that the maid was joining them today which made her immediately feel disgust. _Why does she have to be here? Does she not realize that today is the day he is leaving? She must hate me, too. Or maybe she is trying to steal my prince away from me from under my feet before he leaves? **WENCH.**_

The Prince broke her thoughts when he leaned over the table to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “My love, my maid will take care of you while I am away. I promise you that she will take good care of you as she did to me all these years.” He said as he started to pick at his pancakes with his fork. “Man, I wish we had bacon…” He sighed, remembering when Vanessa banned the food from the table.

“Well maybe if you didn’t love it so much.” Vanessa bit back. Her gaze immediately turned to the maid who sat uncomfortably in their spot. Vanessa went quiet and started to eat her food without a word. The table fell quiet as breakfast commenced before the maid coughed to herself.

“I’m going to take my leave, Prince. I will return shortly to clean the dishes, do not start any food fights while I am gone.” The maid said as she got up and bowed. She turned and left the room briefly to go attend to something in a different room, perhaps to wash up.

“Hmmm… food fight? I don’t know about that.” The Prince smiled mischievously while side-eyeing his princess. This made Vanessa confused and almost upset. _What was he planning? Was this finally the moment he would declare his hatred for her? No… This couldn’t happen_!

Before Vanessa could open her mouth, The Prince put a dab of syrup on Vanessa’s lips and then leaned in to kiss her to taste the maple. Vanessa immediately was taken aback, but leaned in to the kiss The Prince was giving her. It set her heart at ease for just a moment. Why am I having these conflicting feelings anyway? She thought, but then returned to unregulated emotions right after he pulled away. Her cheeks were flushed in a scarlet. “W-well then! Definitely not a food fight-… That’s not very Prince-y of you!” She retorted, barely making an argument.

The Prince pulled back and started to get up from his chair. He laughed and walked over now to Vanessa before hugging her from behind the chair. “I love you.” He said softly, calming down in that very moment. Everything seemed still, the rays of light coming from the window hit off the plates and glass making a pattern on the ceiling. The air smelling of maple and pancakes. Everything felt right in that very moment that Vanessa did not want to let go until The Prince did.

\--

It had become the end of the day when Vanessa’s lover had left and everything in the house felt empty except for the maid who had also resided in the corridors. Vanessa felt herself immediately become a recluse to love. She wanted none of it, but all of it in the same wing. It hurt, she felt like that The Prince violently wounded her heart. It felt like he was playing games with her to get a kick out of her hurt. Maybe he was becoming a lawyer so he could kick her out of his home? To get a restraining order? The thoughts ran through her mind at a thousand miles per hour while she resided in their bed at night. She had pulled out the diary from underneath their bed as well as the ink pen from the stand.

**DIARY ENTRY #46**

_He is gone. I am alone now. That wench is supposed to take care of me. I don’t have a prince to call my own right now… I feel like I’m drowning in a pit of emptiness. This happens so often though. How am I supposed to let it go? Should I just die now? Would that make it better? I don’t know. I’ve had these feelings for such a long time… I want to lash out. I want to push that wench out of the house. I can take care of it myself. Does my Prince not know this? I want him to call me Princess a thousand times until his voice goes feint. I want him to pay so much attention to me until his hands bleed. Until we bleed. I cannot have that right now… He has left me for some tutor wench. I will make him pay for this when he gets back._

She closed her diary again before putting it on the nightstand this time along with her pen. Her Prince wasn’t here so he could not read her diary. She felt safe writing like that when he was gone, but at the same time… she wanted him to know her feelings.

\--

**DIARY ENTRY #59**

_It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen my love. I absolutely hate it. That wench who teaches him “lawyer stuff” gets all his time. She is taking him away from me. Why couldn’t he just learn here by himself? So I could watch him and maybe learn with him. I’m sure he did this because he is out to get me. There is no middle ground here. This is a war!_

\--

**DIARY ENTRY #63**

_My parents have passed. I am no longer his “princess”. He returns home soon. I will show him what-for._

\--

It was finally the day her beloved would return home. She was beyond excited, but beyond guarded. She woke up in the morning disoriented from excitement, quickly getting her belongings together and her hair nice before she flew out the door to go meet her Prince. She went into the town square where she had expected to find her beloved by surprised but met her eyes with something different. Her heart immediately sunk.

The Prince stood in his glory and was at the florist while Vanessa was just yards away watching the scene unfold as he bought flowers for her. Instead, he heard a loud screech erupt from those few yards. Everything and everyone went quiet. The birds flew away in tune with the screaming that was coming from Vanessa. “My Queen?” The Prince turned, just barely handing the money to the florist with flowers in his other hand.

“ADULTERER! CHEATER! BASTARD!” Vanessa screamed before doing an immediate 180 to run back to the mansion in tears. _I knew it, I knew it! Of course, he’d come back ready to see someone else other than me. I KNEW IT! HE WILL PAY FOR HIS CRIMES AGAINST ME!_ She ran so fast that her lungs felt like they would burst. She had to get home and alert her security, her guards to take this man away into the wine cellar so he could atone for his sins against her.

The Prince immediately shoved the money in the florist’s hands and bolted after Vanessa. “Vanessa, please, wait! It’s not what you think! Come back!” He tried running up to her speed, but just fell short of her before she dashed into the house before he did. Before he could open the slammed door, he was met with his own guards.

“Please! I don’t want to see him anymore… How could you do this to me?” Vanessa hid behind the guards as she covered her face in her hands, almost sobbing. However, the sobbing seemed… almost fake in a way. As if she wasn’t sad at all to begin with.

The guards immediately grabbed The Prince and started to drag him out of the main portion of the house where they would take him to the cellar.

“My Queen, please let me explain! I wanted our first meet to be that of flowers. I wanted to gift you something you’d enjoy! We could’ve shared a romantic night afterwards! Please! PLEASE!” He barely choked out before being escorted into the depths of the house where he would be shackled for his non-existent crimes.

“I don’t care anymore… I don’t care. I’m not your anything. I don’t want to be your queen.” She stood alone in front of the house now, listening to his muffled screams. The wind blew lightly, but this time a little colder than before. “I was your princess. I wanted to be your everything. I wanted you to come home, too. But instead you held hands with someone you’ve been probably seeing elsewhere! Maybe you never went on that trip… maybe you hid from me.” She balled up her fists which started to take on an ashy grey. “Now I’ll just take over your home and make it mine.” She looked at the ground with tears streaming down her face. Everything felt cold, her heart, head, and body. “As they say. Your heart is where the home is. This is my home and you won’t be apart of it.” She said as she turned to head back inside, slamming the door behind her.

The clouds soon started to flood in and the wind turned into a blizzard rendering a few snowflakes until what was left was an empty husk of a home that was once so full of love.


	6. I Know Your Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You awake from your slumber inside the Queen's mansion and managed to make it alive. But the baggage you now carry earns you a key and insight into The Snatcher's previous life. What will you do?

The cellar was dank and cold as The Prince hung from the wall. He had cried for days at this point but could not count the nights as he had little to no visibility. However, he did know with each new day came a new scream from the home he used to live in. He wanted to know what his Princess was doing to everyone, including his childhood friend, his Maid. He could feel his hands and feet go numb over the past few days he had been shackled. At this point he couldn’t tell what hurt more, his heart or his body. Was he decomposing yet? He didn’t know. He wished he could escape, but he knew it was the end. With a new day folding over, it was time for his soul to depart and his body to waste away.

The Prince was heaving heavily in the cellar with nothing much left to his person other than his weak will to survive. He moaned in pain as he could feel his organs begin to give up within him. The smells that filled his nostrils started to smell of iron and phosphate. Soon he was coughing up blood that spattered all over his person. He laughed a little to himself, barely managing to speak, “You know it’s rude to look at someone’s memories, kid.”

\--

You immediately woke up in shock from the dream you just had. You found that you were nestled on the floor of the attic. You were still in Vanessa’s mansion, but barely alive from the biting cold. You sat up and held your head because of a hunger headache that was biting at your brain. “What was that…” You murmured. The dream you had was so lively and so dark at the same time. Processing the events was beyond your comprehension, but you knew it was The Snatcher. How did you attain these memories, is the question? It was so vivid and colorful, but it made you resent the resident of the home.

You pulled out the notes and letters that Queen Vanessa had written before turning into the monster she was now. You quickly scanned them again and realized that they were almost directly taken from your dream. It was most likely you had a combination of both Vanessa’s and The Snatcher’s memories in the same dream. What you didn’t understand was how The Snatcher called you out in the tail end. You shook your head and brought the notes back together again and put them in your pockets.

The room was eerily silent along with the rest of the house. A mouse skittered across the floor in the distance which didn’t bother you all too much. You looked around the dark room to try and find a clock. You had lost track of time in Subcon forest but did it all really matter that much considering that it was dark all the time. You saw a small clock that was set off the wall on the side of the room that read midnight, illuminated by snowflakes reflecting light from outside. You weren’t sure when you passed out, but it must have been a few hours before. Immediately, you felt your entire body begin to collapse in pain again. You fought the urge to fall into slumber by getting up on your now blood-soaked shoes. Your feet must have cracked badly from the frostbite, you would need to seek medical attention. If you could even get back.

You recalled reading on the contract that you had to bring something from the attic and that you would know what it was when you saw it. You looked around but didn’t want to search for too long. You assumed that the Queen fell into slumber herself, so you didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get the hell out of the hellhole you were graced with. You immediately gathered all your belongings and bundled up. You were lucky that you were right. The Queen was asleep as you tiptoed down the many corridors of the home until you skittered out into the blizzard yet again, escaping the cellar that The Prince was once chained up in.

\--

The Snatcher was daydreaming in his chair until he awoke to the sound of you in pain across the pond. “Kid?” He looked over and saw you barely coming up his small thorned walkway. You were almost falling into the water before The Snatcher ushered himself over to pick you up. His claws swooping underneath you as he brought you into his den, notes and diary pieces falling from you.

You could barely let out a word before he put a clawed finger to your lips telling you to be quiet. It was quite the warm claw, but you let him do what he wanted to do. He laid you down in his chair horizontally before leaving quickly to grab the gross blanket from before. He wrapped you up tightly before placing his hands upon your now burrito’d body and let his flames warm you up.

“I’m sorry. I should have never sent you. I didn’t think it would kill someone to go visit her.” He said, studying your flushed cheeks from the cold. “I should have let you go home.” He went silent now seeing as you were dozing off again.

You didn’t want to answer him anyway, you were mad at him for making you do something so dangerous. In the same vein, you weren’t mad because you got to learn something about Subcon Forest which was apart of your earth and not too far away from home. You settled into the blanket letting the warmth of his flames consume you into a deep sleep.

The Snatcher finished up his flame ritual before pulling back and noticing a few notes on the floor that were scattered as he brought you in. He went to go pick up the notes and began reading them, not realizing that they were Vanessa’s handwriting. He floated next to the chair he had put you in and read over the notes for what seemed like hours and hours on end. Re-reading them to make sure he didn’t miss details about Vanessa’s downfall. He didn’t know whether to be angry or excruciatingly sad about the notes. He didn’t want to cry either, it was all just shock. “Why didn’t she just… tell me she thought this way?” He mumbled to himself, a tinge of anger of his voice.

The Snatcher crumbled up all her notes and spare diary pieces before burning them in an open flame in his hand, letting the ashes settle on the ground of his home. “I’ll never forgive you now and now I never want to love again. You reaffirmed that. It’s cold and brings nothing!” The Snatcher cast you a glance before pulling out your contract now and marked off everything on the list, he wanted you to disappear, too. He wanted a human to accompany him in his loneliness and masked it with a sarcastic front, but quickly found out that some things weren’t meant to be. He didn’t want to risk falling in love all over again or becoming a friend to yet another human. The only open friendship he had was with Hat Kid, but it was forced. He didn’t want to do it again. It was too much pain after learning more truths.

\--

You woke up some odd hours later to find The Snatcher had been waiting for you to wake up. He was almost in your face where you could feel an odd warmth radiating from him. You were still in a burrito which rendered you helpless if he were to do anything. A peculiar smell of burning ash was lingering in the air, but you did not think much of it considering half of his forest was on fire anyway.

The Snatcher pulled back and smiled his normal smile. “Good job, kid! You managed to do the toughest task! But now, I want you to get out of my forest because now… you’re obsolete! Yes!” He clasped his two clawed hands together. “I’ll let you off without tearing your body apart or whatever, just don’t come back. Ever! HAHAHA. It’s a great deal I would say. The not dying part, I mean.”

You started to roll out of your burrito while he spoke. As soon as you were out of its cozy grasp, you looked up at him quizzically. “So suddenly?” You asked, feeling your feet hurt as you touched the ground after rolling out of your blanket.

“Listen, kid. You’re badly beaten up. You’ve seen a lot, I’m sure. I’ve got better people to work with and even more to push away. Go find a doctor, kiddo. You don’t have much time until your little oopsy gets infected and you DIE. That would be such a shame! NOT!”

“You do realize I saw your memories, right? Somehow…” You stared at him blankly. “I can’t just leave you like this now.”

The Snatcher went silent. _So, you really did see everything._ He would’ve hoped that whatever memory leak he had while he was daydreaming earlier would’ve not mattered to you. The can of worms was now opened, but he had no time to explain to you what was going on.

“Listen. What you saw wasn’t true! I’m sure it was just a bad dream.” He was cut off by you getting angry.

“You called me out for looking when I didn’t even mean to see! How am I supposed to let someone who is an asshole to me, doesn’t let me leave, and has showed me his trauma… just sit here by themselves knowing they’re hurting!” You barely choked out before coughing.

“That’s none of your business. It was an accident. I want you to get out of my forest and to never return. If I see your face around here again, we’ll play pop goes the weasel on that little head of yours.” The Snatcher started to become irritated at your arrogance.

“How is it not my business when you let me in?!” You asked, your tone starting to reach his as he started to near you again.

“If you dare continue this, you won’t see Mafia Town OR your friends again. You’ll be six. Feet. Under.”

With that you went silent, not wanting to fight him anymore. You did want to help him now though. Whatever he was feeling centuries ago was shapes into the being his was now. You saw him in a new light. Seeing the kind of person, he was in those dreams awoke a new feeling for the shadow that you stood before. You weren’t sure if it was love, or if you just felt bad for him. You knew you couldn’t fix what had happened. That just made you want to help his situation out more. However, you were mad that it was going to start out as him pushing you out.

“Good girl. Now, here’s your Ouija board. Now get out of my forest before something REALLY bad happens.” The Snatcher grabbed the Ouija Board off his arm rest on the chair and shoved it into your chest, making you squeak. “Get out.”

You sighed, you weren’t going to win. You looked up at him as he hovered over you. Ever since that dream about him and Vanessa’s memories, you couldn’t help but feel a puddle of emotions sitting in your stomach and lungs. You wanted to reach up and give him a hug and a kiss to tell him it was going to be okay. You wanted to be Vanessa during that time before his death, you would’ve treated him so much better. You wanted those kisses that Vanessa didn’t deserve one bit of. You shook your head before storming out of his den on your frostbitten feet.

This wasn’t the last time you were going to see him. You were going to make sure of it, to restore his dead heart and create it anew. If it meant painting in new red hues in beautiful undertones to make him feel whole again. You would do it. If it meant a million more contracts, you would make sure to make him whole again and bring Subcon Forest to a natural state again. You would make your feet bleed a thousand times over if it meant earning his trust again. Maybe to show him what it means to love again.

Because god dammit, the supernatural need love, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this chapter being a little shorter than the rest of the chapters. Now that you know The Snatcher's secret of being The Prince of your dreams (quite literally!), what will happen to your relationship moving on? You just barely met the guy, now he's kicking you as a servant after you finding out some S A U C Y material! 
> 
> You also find some newfound feelings for the supernatural being of Subcon Forest, what will happen now?~


	7. Getting Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You returned safely back to Mafia Town and started the process of recovery. Your hopes and dreams feeling like they've been crushed and memories of a Prince once known filled every corner of your mindscape. You find a renewed feeling of wanting to help someone who is in pain, but how do you start after almost being murdered?

The following week of your rendezvous at Subcon forest you had ended up in the hospital for serious frostbite and got out in a few days’ time. You were greeted at your apartment in Mafia Town by your friends who apologized profusely, asking for your forgiveness. You forgave all of them but lectured them on presents such as going to somewhere you had no idea about. How it wasn’t a surprise but a death wish. You also ended up keeping the Ouija board with you, insisting to your friends that you might plan on using it in the future to enhance your belief in another plane of existence. However, you had other plans with the silly board.

A few days following your recovery and discharge from the hospital you began your host(ess) job back in the gambling center. Everything seemed to go back to normal, despite the emptiness that flooded your heart during your shifts. It felt like you took on a completely different personality after leaving Subcon Forest. Part of you wanted to go back, but you knew it wasn’t the right time. The information that was unloaded onto The Snatcher was probably a lot for him. That’s probably why he expelled you from the forest. You went home that night from your job feeling like a mess despite it being your first day back on the job.

You walked down the streets of Mafia Town to your apartment which was just a few blocks away. It was safe. There were no ghosts that could harm you or a man that would be as so disrespectful as to insist to walk you home. It was just silence mixed in with the songs of the grasshoppers with the occasional flickering of lightning bugs. It was a walk that you didn’t get when you were in Subcon Forest for the short time you were there. There were no neon dwellers or odd purple fruits. It was just you and the town, but it still felt empty. You looked up at the clear night sky hoping a start would shoot across the sky so you could wish to have your memories erased, but no such miracle came.

You finally made it back to your apartment and put the key in the knob and went in. You set your things down such as your backpack that you carried with you to work. You were immediately faced with your empty living room with just a sofa and a small TV sitting across from it. You flipped a light switch and turned on the TV, slumping onto the couch which make old creaking noises. It was flimsy and previously used, the royal blue from the couch clearly aged from the wear and tear. You sighed and watched the blaring lights of the TV showed you a silly drama about falling in love and finding a soulmate. You rolled your eyes as you constantly watched clichés. You hated drama shows like these because they never reflected any real feelings.

You clicked off the TV and finally laid on your side on the couch thinking of your next plan of action. You wanted to help The Snatcher but didn’t know where to start. You closed your eyes to think of him sitting in his dead tree, reading to himself or catching the next sucker to enter his domain. You remembered before leaving the forest you met the last minion and asked them if they could stay watch for mailmen who might bring packages in. You wanted to send mysterious letters to The Snatcher as a cheesy way of making him possibly feel better. You turned over on your side now, staring at the blank TV. “I wonder if I could…” You murmured, focusing on the static screen before jumping up and rushing to your bedroom.

You pulled out the Ouija board that you had received as a present weeks before from under your bed and smiled to yourself. “Let’s try this…” You said out-loud thinking maybe if you tried contacting him through the Ouija board that maybe you could bring him into your room through a portal or possibly just talk to him. _This would make you both happy_ , or so you thought. You didn’t know garbage about supernatural stuff, so this was new territory for you to explore. Using a Ouija board by yourself with no knowledge of what to do. You quickly set the Ouija board on your bed along with the planchette and your phone. You hopped on your bed and immediately googled how to ask for a specific person. You read the results thoroughly before just coming to the simple conclusion: Ask for him specifically. However, there was no guarantee he would come through, but a demon could impersonate him!

“How can a demon impersonate another demon?” You laughed to yourself before putting away your phone and put both your hands on the planchette. You inhaled and cleared your mind before thinking and imagining The Snatcher sitting there with you.

“I wish to contact The Snatcher, please!” You asked into the empty air with the confidence of a million suns. Your heart rate started to pick up speed as you debated just chucking the Ouija board out the window out of embarrassment of even doing this shit again. You continued, however. You weren’t sure at this point if you were doing this because you sincerely missed him or if you felt bad leaving him hurt in his forest. Maybe you felt a connection to him because you felt bad and thought you could fix him? No. You already knew that you can’t fix someone, they must fix themselves. They could have support, though.

You tried to push your confusion of the entity out of your head so you could continue this silly ritual. If it even worked. You opened your mouth again after a few minutes, “I’m not in your forest! I’m in my roooooom!” You teased with a small smile on your face. Maybe he would appreciate that, who knows.

“Are you here?” You finally asked. You stared at the board with your hands on the planchette. It didn’t move an inch for what seemed like forever. You knew this thing was a gimmick and a bust. Perhaps when The Snatcher fucked with you in the forest, he was already there, just fucking with your friends’ movements. You didn’t know. Your mind began to fill with possibilities of the board being a hoax before your hands moved to ‘No’.

You were amazed by the slow response, but immediately knew because of the demeanor of the whole ordeal that it was him. “Can you at least hear me?” You asked. There was another pause before the planchette moved away from ‘No’ temporarily and moved back to ‘No’ again. You knew at this point he was trying to be funny.

“Okay, for real is this The Snatcher?” You watched the planchette move to ‘Yes’ after a few moments. A quicker response time, you liked that. However, before you could ask your next question the planchette moved in different directions across the alphabet to form the sentence, ‘Can you leave me alone, please?’. You felt defeated by this sudden response.

“I just want to talk.” You said as you felt the planchette moved across the board rapidly again.

‘I gave you the option to live and not die. It was a generous offer.’ It spelled out. You were having trouble keeping up with his words but figured it out quickly because he tried to pause after his words so you would understand.

“Snatcher.” You said softly this time. “I don’t know why, maybe I shouldn’t feel this way. You changed how I see your part of the world. I was always so nonchalant towards your contracts and wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. We’ve only known each other for maybe three days tops... But your memories… along with Vanessa’s…” You paused as the planchette flew out of your hands and began spelling rapidly by itself.

‘You’re joking, trooper. I know this is a very funny joke to make fun of a dead guy who lost everything. I don’t really have an interest interacting with a human like this.’ He responded within a few minutes.

“It’s not a joke, though.” You frowned as your feelings were being invalidated.

‘There’s nothing you can do, a mere human, that would save me. Not that I actually need saving.’

You thought for a moment, since The Snatcher was talking with you through the board, that means there was a portal open for communication. You both sat in silence a few minutes as you processed what he had told you and you finally pitched the question.

“I know you can’t leave the forest, but can you sort of teleport through the board that connects you to your forest so we can talk? I’m not sure how this thing works...” You laughed nervously before the planchette moved to ‘No’.

“Is that a no you can’t do it, or no you don’t want to even if you can?”

‘I can. I do not want to.’

“Please? It’s not like we’re going to do things…” You laughed nervously with a slight blush forming on your cheeks.

‘Excuse me?’

“I MEAN. It’s not like I can hurt you! Here! I mean exactly that. Yeah. Haha.” You pretended to wipe off imaginary sweat off your brow before the Ouija board erupted into a green and blue portal. A few whizzing sounds sent you falling back into your sheets as you watched the Snatcher peek his head out of the portal from the board.

“Do you want to repeat what you just said to me, kid?” He said, making eye contact with you before lifting himself out of the board to look at you as you laid before him.

“You’re actually…” You winced for a moment because of the pain your body brought to you before smiling wider than ever before. “You pulled through!”

“… Don’t take this as a happy reunion, kiddo. I’m here to set the record straight since our little fiasco a few weeks ago.” He glared now, his eyes piercing though your body like daggers before looking around your room. _The times really did change, didn’t they?_ The Snatcher thought before turning his eyes back to you.

“I don’t want you back in my forest. I don’t want you contacting me with this silly children’s game. I’m more than happy to make a contract that will just actually kill you on the spot and we could go our happy ways… Well. I would go on my merry way, you would be dead. HAH.” He laughed to himself before returning to his grim attitude.

“Snatcher, please let me explain myself. I want to help you.” You sat up now, crossing your legs.

“I don’t need your help. In fact, I don’t need anyone’s help. I just need a voracious appetite for souls and books that make me happy. I do not need you or ANYTHING.” He bellowed.

“I know you have a lot on your plate. You showed me things that I think I can remedy in some capacity. I know I’m just a human, but please. I would take a million contracts for you if it meant doing something to help.” You looked at him with pleading eyes.

“You’re such a rude individual and a tough negotiator, aren’t you kid?” He looked down at you. “A million contracts…” He thought before shaking it off. “No, I’m sorry kiddo I’m done with contracts unless I plan on murdering someone.”

You went silent and looked away from him, feeling slightly betrayed by his demeanor.

“However, if you bring me a new law book, maybe we can talk.” He pondered the idea. “Actually, 5 law books.”

You felt your spirits lift as he began to make a deal with you. “Give me a week, I got you covered.”

You could feel The Snatcher roll his eyes at you before going back into his little portal. “Don’t call me again like this, you hear me kiddo? Next time it’ll be a contract you will never be able to complete… Just… don’t miss me too much.” He winked at you before sinking into his hole and poofing out of existence. The planchette at that point moved to ‘Goodbye’ before your eyes.

You began to freak out as feeling of joy flooded your very being despite being in intense pain from your injuries that you had sustained before. You couldn’t articulate your feelings now, but The Snatcher has caught your interest despite getting you almost murdered. It was an odd feeling. Was this Stockholm Syndrome? Was this the feeling of gaining a new friend of another world? Was it a small crush? You had no idea, but you wanted to find out. However, you also wanted to improve his life by doing this for him.

Now you wanted to bring the Ouija board with you everywhere you went. You wanted to have coffee with him, you wanted to watch TV with him, take him book shopping. You found yourself imagining spending time with him in all these scenarios which quickly came to stop when you realized he probably wouldn’t be into any of that. He was still The Snatcher. A Prince of the Night waiting to pounce. Maybe he was fooling you, but regardless, you sort of wanted to be fooled? You shook your head before getting out of bed to start your night routine before falling into a deep slumber. 

Your week was about to be more purposeful and you were all there for it. You were excited for what it would bring you as the emptiness in your own heart began to fade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for who read this! The kudos are super cool, too! It's SUPER EXCITING!! Thank you so much!


	8. Bacon and Bookstores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wanted The Snatcher to join you for breakfast before you got his books! How happy is he about that, though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for this chapter being shorter! Currently trying to work through a splitting episode, I hope you can enjoy the light fluff I added here!

The following morning after your summoned encounter with Snatcher you were in the kitchen making breakfast. Your hands moved expertly from the smooth countertops to the stove as you made pancakes and bacon. The smell filled the air and it made you smile. Finally, some real food! You went to go put your plate down at the small makeshift table in your disproportionate apartment kitchen. You went to grab some milk before your hand stopped on the fridge door. You turned around and looked at your plate and noticed the bacon sitting there. You turned back to the fridge thinking to yourself, _Maybe I should summon him and give him some bacon? Would he appreciate that? Does he sleep? Would I wake him up???_ You opened your fridge before pulling the milk out and setting it on your table before running to your bedroom to grab your little Ouija board and brought it to the living room.

You set the board down on the ground in front of your tv and quickly went to grab your breakfast before returning and sitting down in front of the board. You knew he said not to contact him, but you were going to push for his affection. Er, friendship! Or something like that.

You put a piece of bacon in your mouth before putting the planchette on the board again. You spoke with a mouth full of delicious bacon, “I wish, I wish with ALL my heart. To be with the Snatcher in a land apart!”. You smiled as you swallowed your bacon. There was silence which immediately made you grumpy sitting in your pajamas on the living room floor. “Snatcher, please don’t be difficult.”

A small little portal formed at the corners of the Ouija board and the Snatcher peaked up from below. His face almost inches away from your cross-legged feet. “Are you serious right now? No, like are you serious. I literally… we literally just spoke last night. I gave you something to do now let me be!” He snarled at you.

“A hello would be nice once in a while.” You said as you looked down at him. _Was he being shy and not wanting to completely through?_ You didn’t know. “I made breakfast, do you want some?”

“Kiddo.” He sighed before coming out more from hiding and getting to eye level with you. “I don’t eat any more like humans-“

You shoved a piece of bacon in his jack-o’-lantern face before pulling your hand back. _It went through, so that means it went in right?_

The Snatcher didn’t expect you to be so forceful after literally shoving bacon down his throat. He coughed a little before realizing it was actual bacon. He went silent after not knowing whether to be happy or pissed that he was just given something he loved. Something he thought he briefly didn’t deserve.

“Is my cooking that bad?” You asked, looking at him with a concerned look on your face.

He snapped out of his daze to look at you for a moment before growing a little pissed off. “Do that again, and I won’t be eating bacon. It’ll be you! You’re really testing my patience, kiddo! I don’t think you understand what predicaments you’re putting yourself into by messing with me.” The Snatcher flared his tufts of hair as if he were a bearded dragon.

“You’ll be eating me? That’s a shame.” You were thinking something totally different. “I never thought that’s what ghosts were into.” You started to laugh as The Snatcher could feel himself becoming flustered at your attitude and twisting his words. He didn’t show it on his face, but he stammered trying to come up with something to get you back with.

“That is exactly NOT what I meant, and you know it. Oh, you’re safe now in this little city of yours… When you get back with those books- if you even do. You’ll be in unsurpassable amounts of trouble. Otherwise, I’ll be the one figuring out how to really get here and screw up every damn thing you love. Don’t test me.” He huffed before looking down at your plate and grabbing a handful of bacon for himself. “AS PUNISHMENT FOR SUMMONING ME HOWEVER, I’LL BE TAKING THIS GREASY PIG MEAT AHAHAHA.”

“Oh no, it’s not like I made extras.” You pretended to be in distress as you watched him take the bacon off your plate.

“Exactly! You’re getting it now, kid! Now…” He patted your head with his non-greasy clawed hand before continuing, “Don’t forget about those books now. The bacon was a nice extra- but I’m afraid I don’t have hunger for human food, but souls.” He took the same hand and put a claw to your chest before dragging it up to boop your nose.

You swatted his hand away as he pulled back to laugh. You could feel the warmth radiating from his person and even your own cheeks. “Whatever. I’ll get it done.” You mumbled, looking away as he sunk back into his portal.

“Thanks for the bacon, sweetheart!” He said as his final goodbye as he moved the planchette to goodbye, ending the session between you and him.

You shook your head and yeeted the board across your living room out of embarrassment. Sweetheart? That was a new name. He called you kid or kiddo this entire time, what made this time so different yet again? You thought spastically. You shook off this session as to one where he just stole the lot of your food and continued with your morning. It was going to be a long day.

\--

You completed your morning chores and were out within the next hour after eating breakfast. You didn’t have work that day so there was no need to head up to the gambling center so instead you headed straight for the nearest Bookstore which was right across town. You didn’t expect much, in fact, you were worried that there would be nothing relating to what he wanted.

You walked with your backpack in tow, passing stands for random trinkets before one caught your eye. It was an older Mafia member sitting there, knitting blankets. You stopped to look at his wares, your eyes clinging to a black knitted blanket with a few purple sparkles here and there.

“How do you do, pretty lady? Mafia made this blanket!” The elder Mafia Man said cheerfully before going back to his knitting.

You wanted The Snatcher to know you were a good person and that you were there for him. _How much is too much?_ You thought while rummaging through your many pockets for your own old wallet. “Can I have that black one there?” You pointed with your other hand before pulling out the wallet with your other hand.

Mafia looked behind him and dropped his knitting needles on his counter to grab your preferred knitted masterpiece. “Mafia more than happy to sell this to you! It’s a little expensive, but it’s Mafia food for tonight.” He turned back, folding the blanket before handing it to you.

“I don’t really mind. If it puts food on your plate, I’m sure it’ll work in both ways!” You smiled before handing him some of the money you had on you, throwing in a tip for his work well done. You put your wallet away before sliding off your backpack to put the blanket in there. You zipped up your backpack and put it on again. You waved the Mafia goodbye before continuing to your destination.

You made it in due to time to the town’s own bookstore. It didn’t have the prettiest outside, but when you stepped in your senses were overflowing with new book smell. You hoped that The Snatcher would enjoy this smell as much as you did. You walked in, being greeted by cashier Mafia and Mafia who offered to help you find anything. You asked directions for the Law Section and were led there promptly. You nodded the mafia off before looking at the vast array of law books arranged on old oak shelves before you. This was going to take a while. _Hopefully he can appreciate these handpicked novels._ You sighed, getting to work.

You sat there for about two hours going through many of the law books that were offered. You had no idea what The Snatcher was looking for. What kind of law? What law did he practice? It racked your brain with the possibilities. You went through all these books that were primarily about the history of law setting in the Mafia Town, but nothing significant enough to warrant buying. You finally picked out a small array of five books like he asked for and brought them to the check-out where the Mafia scanned them one by one while trying to make small-talk with you.

“Oh! Mafia like these books! Since when did little one decide to learn law?” The Mafia smiled at you gingerly, putting the books into a few compostable bags.

“They’re for someone else.” You responded, confident you had made some good choices in book choosing.

“Good gift, even fit for Mafia!” He laughed before handing you your bags and swiping your card that you wanted to pay with. He gave it back and waved you off as you ushered yourself outside of the bookstore and back home.

\--

You burst through your apartment door, taking in deep breaths. Those books were damn heavy, chalked full of knowledge you couldn’t understand! You quickly set your purchases down before running to your bedroom to pack a few things in your already full backpack. You stuffed sleeping items as well as a good luck charm in the shape of a star. You quickly set out after you grabbed your purchases again and headed out the door to figure out your way to Subcon Forest.

\--

You managed to pay for a cab that Mafia ran to get to the edge of where Subcon Forest started. You paid him promptly, plus some extra of what you had left, and he took off in a spook as he left you at the threshold of the dark and ominous forest.

You were so ready to give The Snatcher a gift of trust!


	9. Opening Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have obtained the books The Snatcher had asked for, but how he reacts to your advances doesn't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for the short chapter and the lots of dialogue...

You began your journey down the dirt road of Subcon Forest. You took in the air that was tainted with half the forest being on fire. You had no idea where you were going as you had only been here once before, but you let your heart lead in the direction you thought your Prince would be.

You walked for a while until you came to a circle of overgrown roots. Something felt off by the presence of them, but you didn’t mind it after careful decision making. Next thing you knew you were captured in a net trap. You were sent flying into the air with all your books in tow, struggling to maintain some balance in the small trap that was set up. _Hunters?_ Your mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that you stepped into an animal trap. How would you get out? You sat there now with your arms crossed, getting snug into the trap. “Give me a break.“ You sighed.

You heard loud thumping coming from somewhere off in the distance and your trap immediately came free. You felt your entire life flash before your eyes as you free fell from the air. In the distance you could hear The Snatcher’s voice boom, “FOOOOOO- Oh. Oh Christ, kiddo, HOLD ON.”

You shut your eyes tightly preparing for impact of the ground. Instead you felt yourself land into something softer. You opened one eye out of curiosity to see if you were dying, but instead two big gold glowing eyes were staring straight through your soul and a tuft of hair poking your cheek. You finally opened both eyes to look at him.

“My most prized soul isn’t damaged, are they, (Y/N)? That would be rather… unfortunate.” The Snatcher let out of a sigh of content. He said your name for the first time in forever which sent a shiver down your spine for a split moment. You shook your head in response to him. He seemed different this time despite almost dropping you dead on the ground.

The Snatcher studied your facial features and your expression before putting you down safely. “Or perhaps I should’ve let you die considering your little act earlier today, summoning me in the morning.” His voice turned into displeasure as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Brat.” He said.

“Well, now you don’t have to because I brought booooks!” You announced, picking up the books that had fallen with you, presenting one of them to him.

The Snatcher’s eyes went wide as he snatched it from your hand to open its contents. You could see his Jester’s smile grow larger. “This is fantastic, kiddo. Almost as fantastic as your bacon from this morning.” He was in utter awe as he flipped the pages of his new prized possession.

“You like it?” You asked while stuffing the other fallen books in the bags you had bought them in and adjusting your backpack.

“Of course! I haven’t had anything new to read in centuries!” He turned to you. “Come on now, show me what else you have.” He said as he started to float down his little path, leading you through his domain. The walk was long and quiet as he flipped through his book.

\--

You both arrived promptly to his humble abode inside the tree he called home. He settled on his chair as he pointed to the table for you to put the rest of the books on. You followed promptly as you pulled out the books and slapped them on his table that creaked and was unstable.

“This is absolutely fantastic. The writing is great, too. Now I can run my domain with an Iron Fist!” He cackled to himself before looking at you. “Uh, kiddo, I don’t normally say this to anyone, but thank you. I guess.”

You felt your heart skip a beat as he spoke to you the way he did. It felt soft and caring. You shook off your feelings for him and responded, “No problem. It was the least I could do.”

“I don’t get it. Or you, rather.” He put down his book on his arm rest before studying you. “You know I kill people right?”

You put down your backpack and opened it to pull out a blanket it and ran it over to him, throwing it onto where you thought his knees were. “I know, but I choose to ignore it. Your memories told me something else. I don’t think you’re all bad.”

The Snatcher fell quiet again, you weren’t going to let go of his memories. He looked at the blanket and picked it up. The texture was soft and smelled of you. He turned his gaze to you again.

“What is the meaning of this… blanket?” The Snatcher sounded confused as he inspected the blanket.

“So you don’t get cold.” You replied, standing idly in front of his chair.

“It’s nice, but I don’t get cold, kid. I’ve been used to it forever.” He sounded sad now and you felt your heart drop. He was referencing his past which made you feel a pang of emotion in your heart. Nevertheless, you pressed on.

“Snatcher, I know it’s going to be a hard journey to accept what has happened to you, but I still want to help you.” You said with sadness in your eyes.

“…” The Snatcher sighed in annoyance before putting his blanket down on himself and grabbed you from the ground to set you in his lap. He placed a soft clawed hand on your lap, trying to come up with words to tell you, but he couldn’t find any.

You blushed intensely at the sudden gesture, but you let him do what he wants. You wanted to place your hand over his but hesitated. He was right, he does kill people. Who says he couldn’t kill you in the most tender of moments? You both sat in silence, listening quietly to the crickets sing around the tree. It felt peaceful for a few moments before The Snatcher pretended to clear his throat.

“I…. Kid… I mean… hell.” He was flustered and clawed at your jeans slightly out of anxiety before placing his other clawed hand on his wrist, pinching it lightly.

“I can go if you want.” You said, looking at him with a look of concern.

“It was never the plan for my contractors to turn the table in my direction. It was purely just to clerical work, nothing more. Nothing less!” He said, avoiding looking at you now while rubbing his wrists.

“You act like you’re not human. You always referred me to just a human or that a human can’t help you.” You talked with a tinge of irritation in your voice.

“You honestly think I’m human? After what you saw from my little memory leak and what you see now you can still call this,” He gestured to himself before continuing, “A human? That’s laughable, kid.”

“You’re just astray…” You trailed off before he started to laugh.

“Are you kidding me you rude little bastard?” He chuckled before shoving you off his lap. “Who knew defective housekeeping existed? I guess you really are damaged, (Y/N).”

You were hurt by his sudden coldness, but you knew he was hurting. You picked yourself off the wood flooring and dusted yourself off. You turned and picked up your backpack without a word and started out of his tree without saying a word. You didn’t want to say goodbye. You pulled out your phone and plugged in your ear buds. You started to play your downloaded playlist as you made it a point to leave and go home. You didn’t want to see him again, you did what he asked and that was that.

The Snatcher watched you as you started to leave, he was confused. He didn’t want to stop you though. He needed time to himself while reading all the new books he had been given. _I need to figure out a way to get out of this forest again like I did with Hat Kid… Those damn foxes are back, keeping me here._ He though to himself. For now, all he had were his minions and the vermin that loitered in his forest to help him escape the ruins of Subcon Forest. He stopped picking at his wrists before picking up his new law book off the rest and began to read comfortably with the blanket you have given him.

This was going to take time.


	10. Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You return to work the day after you and The Snatcher a falling out. You meet a mysterious man while at work, however things don't go as planned for both parties.  
> (F/C) in this means favorite color!

You got home that night in a fit of tears streaming down your face. The Snatcher wasn’t grateful for anything. He was what he was, a cold demon cloaked in a deathly purple and black. He was right to not call himself human, how could he be so cold to you after you gave him books and then proceed to call you defective? Human, yeah right. Perhaps Vanessa had all the reason to kill him, after all you only saw small clips of memories produced by both the Snatcher and Vanessa.

You threw your backpack into a corner of the living room before proceeding to strip yourself of your clothes while walking into your bedroom. You didn’t care about the mess you left, it was a sign of your depression that you would’ve had to pick up later. You crawled into your fluffy (F/C) covers and turned to face the side of the room at had a window looking out over Mafia Town. The lights of the busy mens stands lit the sky brilliantly but blocked out the stars. Your room was dark, and all was silent. It was late, but you didn’t want to sleep. Your mind ran through your small bickering argument today with the shadow.

It didn’t seem like The Snatcher even wanted to get better. It didn’t feel like he wanted to try and take that leap of faith with you. You opened yourself to him to let go of every single memory and worry. All for naught. Of course, you were still quite the stranger to him, and he just happened to let his and Vanessa’s memories to leak into yours. You felt as if though he intentionally let you wander into his fiancé’s mansion. He wanted to finish hurting so he could stop hurting others, but what ever came out was the exact opposite. It was his problem, not yours. You pulled the blankets close to your chest as you started to feel your eyes become waterworks. Salty tears dripped down the side of your face onto the pillow. You didn’t mind this as much because you were alone, but it began to sting your eyes as well.

You soon pulled the covers over your eyes and rubbed them thoroughly before sniffling. At least, you had work tomorrow and maybe one of the drunk Mafia men could be your therapist for the time being. At least someone would appreciate your presence even if it was in a drunken stupor. You sighed as you began to close your eyes to the lit-up town outside your window. You were going to start letting go of the eldritch being starting tomorrow- you were sure of it.

\--

After you had left The Snatcher read his books in silence, sending off any minion that passed to go buzz off. It was quite clear judging by the faces he was making that he was distraught. He didn’t intend for you to leave, but he pushed you away instead. He slammed his new book shut and put it away on the shelf. The work you had done was all messed up again due to The Snatcher’s poor organizational skills.

The Snatcher reached around his chair to grab a finely aged red wine and a glass to go with it. He poured himself out a glass and sat back in his chair, sipping idly. He swirled his glass here and there thinking about what he would do next. He wanted to forget about you, but at the same time, a nonexistent gut feeling told him to embrace the silence and reconsider. “That damn kid.” He mumbled, this time going in forcefully to down his wine and pour out another cup.

“Barely know ‘em and I’m already missing something.” He clenched the upper part of the glass with his claws, growing slightly angry at the thought of you.

“Leaves me here ALL to my lonesome, I happen to get a little snippy, and the kid just runs off! Reaaaaal mature that is. HAH. Maybe I can hope (Y/N) died on the way home!” He talked to nothing, the sounds of cricket chirps and other creatures filling the spaces of his home.

“They’ll NEVER understand what it’s like to be in my position, much less HURT the way I do.” He chortled, taking a sip.

“I can’t sleep, eat, or much less even beat my own fucking heart- what can a human do? Buy me a few books, do some dirty work, clean my well, harass my beloved… Everything! And… pft… Hahaha.” The Snatcher laughed harder, quite clearly intoxicated.

“All humans can do is come into my forest- harass ME and expect me to let them go! What a delight that is. What a delight. I let you go, and you just disrespect me in my OWN home!” He stared straight at the other side of his abode as if the wall were you. He got up while chugging his second glass of wine and throwing off the cup onto the floor, letting it shatter. He grabbed the entire bottle at this point and started to take swigs.

“Tell me that you can help me! Preposterous! It… it doesn’t make sense! I’m not human- the little punk that was me had the balls sized of ants! I am the threat of this sleepy forest. I am the KING of my own domain!” The Snatcher took another swig and slashed the inside of his home with a clawed hand. The claw marks leaving a burnt residue on the bark and the sound of burning wood could be heard.

The Snatcher took a few floating steps back to admire his work. “If only you were really here… I could do that to you.” His little tufts of hair were rising in a blue heat surrounding him.

“YOU MADE A FOOOOOOOL OUT OF ME, I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN. I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU!” The Snatcher shouted, swiping at his tree again. He was beyond furious. He was furious with you and what you started to turn him into. He wasn’t about to go soft- yet.

“I will find… my own god damn way out of this forest. Murder those god damn fucking FOREST SPIRITS. I will find you and I will kill you. You’re not safe anymore, (Y/N).” He snarled before finishing the entirety of his bottle and casting it off into the wall, breaking on impact.

The Snatcher sluggishly turned around and slumped into his chair. His hair tufts and blue flames fading away on impact. For the first time in a while he felt like he accomplished something even if it meant bringing his little stump of a home down. He felt woozy from his alcohol intake- something he didn’t feel in centuries. It wasn’t a nauseous woozy, but it was drowsiness. He let his glowing eyes settle as his face turned into a tired frown. He outstretched his hand to find the blanket you had bought him off the floor and brought it up to himself. A drunken slumber while residing in the depths of a sleepy forest that he once owned lovingly.

\--

The morning couldn’t come quicker for you as you woke up to stormy skies outside your window. Your crusted eyes from crying the night before trying to find your alarm clock that wasn’t set the day before. You finally glanced at your night stand where the clock read 1 PM despite the dark rainy skies telling you otherwise. You pulled yourself out of bed to the sound of thunder shaking your house. You felt empty inside as you did your daily duties around your apartment such as picking up the clothes you took off the night before and taking a well-needed shower. Self-care was all that could suit you for the day as you were ready to take off for work.

The clock soon turned to 3:00 PM and you were out the door to Mafia Town’s gambling bar where the Mafia Boss used to reside. You flew in the doors of the establishment in a whiplash of high energy and were drenched by the rain. One of the bouncer Mafia looked you over as you entered and raised an eyebrow. He apologized to you that he didn’t have a towel to offer as you walked past.

You soon headed over to the bar where you hung up your raincoat and wiped yourself down with spare towels from the bar staff. You clocked in on a time sheet beside the door leading to the kitchen and got straight to work in the low-lit gambling room. There were very little customers due to the early time of day, but that was enough for you to stand around.

The men you worked with were always so flustered at your presence so the need to talk to any of your coworkers wasn’t very high. You still enjoyed that they were there to talk to when you needed it. You worked the early day into the night where it started to become busy and the cigarette smoke permeated the air in a thin white layer.

Something felt different about being a host tonight. The faces blended together as everyone nearly looked the same, but one who sat at the bar felt… different. You shook off the bad feeling, you didn’t know if he came earlier or later. It didn’t matter until your thoughts were broken by drunk Mafia men singing old nursery rhymes with adult twists. You handed out drinks to drunks and handed tabs to those who looked like they were almost done. You took cash and Mafia vault codes in the heat of the cigarette smoke flooding your lungs. You decided it was time to break from the crowds of people and headed back with your platter to the bar.

The man sitting at the end of the bar stared you down but said no words. He laughed a bit as you sat down a barstool down from him. You had a small cup of water in your hands, minding your own business thinking the man sitting next to you was just tipsy from the alcohol he received. Your eyes wandered down the bar table to meet your eyes with what looked like a Mafia Town civilian, except he had brilliant yellow eyes. You quickly cast your glance the other way.

“It’s not polite to stare, miss.” The Mafia Man spoke in what seemed like a poor accent like the other men of the town. You felt your guard go up almost immediately when the man spoke, maybe he was a visitor from a town over. You gripped your drink, trying not to show that you had anxiety.

“My apologies.” Was all you could say in the current situation that this individual forced you into. You searched your glass of water for answers before turning back to the man with a smile on your face. “Are you enjoying yourself tonight, sir? It doesn’t look like you’re from around here… well… sounds like.”

The man half-heartedly smiled at your poor attempt to be polite, but he answered you anyway. “I’m not from here… my father lives here. I am visiting for a while… or rather a night. I have to take care of some things. It’s such a shame that it’s raining though. Rather cold.”

You noticed a bite to the end of his sentence which startled you. Maybe it was in his dialect to speak the way he did in his other city. You laughed it off before looking at the clock on the wall and hopping off the stool and finishing your drink and setting it down on the counter.

“I really should get back to work…” You laughed nervously as you waved at the stranger. You turned around and quickly picked up your platter and loaded it with drinks and newly printed tabs. Taking off into the crowd. That man wasn’t normal. You had a gut feeling. It was bad business, but how bad? Maybe he meant well, but his eyes told you another story.

The man smiled as you left, but it was a crooked smile. _I’ll have you in my trap soon enough_. He thought as he got up to find the juke box. The body was limiting and sluggish to the man as he pushed his way through the crowd to find the nearest music machine that glowed rainbow colors. He coughed up smoke as he flipped through the music. _It’s all new, I’ve never seen this garbage before. No Mozart or Beethoven? I should sue._ The man sneered. A song was already playing throughout the small gambling hall, so he chose the next best thing he saw, _It’s Not Unusual_ by Tom Jones. The song sounded cynical to him. It’s not unusual to die? It’s not unusual to be put six feet under? He sure as hell hoped so. He turned around triumphantly to go find you in the crowd.

You served drinks feverishly before turning to go grab more beverages before being met with the man she had been in a confrontation with earlier. He was in your face, smiling as you fumbled to grab hold of your platter.

He took a step away and did a silly bow towards you. “May I ask the lovely host to dance with me for this next song that’s about to play?”

You were speechless for a hot moment and did a double take at the man before you. You blushed a little bit. Perhaps he wasn’t creepy, he probably was just looking at you because you were different then all the men here. The only one of your own that didn’t look like a copy. You tried to hide the blush on your cheeks with your serving circle.

“I don’t know… I’m working.” You cast a glance at him as he stood up straight again.

“Trust me, I will make good use of your time. These ki- I mean guys all have two feet. They can get drinks on their own. Trust me, please.” The man’s smile was almost intoxicating to you.

You finally agreed to him and went to go put your platter down at the bar and promised the tender that you would return after the next few songs. You went off on your way to the man who had asked you to dance in the busy place, with a little skip in your heart beats. This was beginning to feel better after your plan fell through with The Snatcher.

The man grabbed you by the hand ever so gently before pulling you to a less traffic area. He smiled as he heard the last song begin to end, and the new one about to start. He placed a dainty hand on your waist and set his feet apart as did you, but something confused you.

He wasn’t looking to dance just any dance. This was formal dancing he was getting into. It was quirky, but weird. You heard the first few notes from the song he chose and began to blush madly. The man noticed and became extremely confused.

_Why are you blushing? What the hell? I thought…_ He started to pretend dance with you in a formal fashion as he listened carefully to the lyrics and the beat of the song, not paying attention to your face. His face soon began to turn red before turning back to you, noticing that this was **DEFINITELY** not about killing anyone or putting them six feet under. It was the exact opposite. He watched your face quizzically as you tried to mouth the words to the song to avoid the embarrassment of how the two of you were dancing awkwardly to an upbeat song.

You looked up at him as you mouthed the words, “It’s not unusual to be mad with anyone”. Your eyes met with the man’s golden ones, letting your blush slightly fade. You finished the song on a good note as you pushed him lightly away. This man was different, for sure, but he was just trying to hit it off with you. You waved him goodbye one last time before retreating to your duties again.

The man sat there in a daze as you left him. _For one, I hate how catchy that damn song was. I will find it again later. Two, I never noticed how deep their eyes were. Three, I’m still angry._ He let his hands drop at his sides and he went back to his bar stool which was now occupied by two Mafia men hitting on each other. The man sighed and decided it was a good time to retreat into the shadows until you finished work in a few hours.

\--

The hours ticked by and you had finally finished your twelve-hour shift. It was a measly 3 AM when you got out. You put on your yellow raincoat and punched out of your shift. You said goodnight to everyone and made your way out of the establishment and climbed your way down from the bar. It was still raining as you got out and a little windier than when you got there earlier. You didn’t mind though, it was a cool breeze and besides, tornadoes were least likely to happen on an island.

You walked down slightly flooded roads and pathways only to find yourself in dark alleyways where it felt like the street lamps should’ve been on. You shook your head and pressed onto your apartment, holding your keys between your fingers in a white-knuckle grip. It felt like someone was following you, but you didn’t want to believe it. You broke into a dash despite the paths being slick with water coating them.

Your apartment was the same as it ever was when you dashed in. You threw your backpack into the corner of your living room again and began to take off your clothes before entering your bedroom. You went to your bedroom and flipped the light on without glancing and started to take off your shirt before you heard a familiar voice enter your ears.

“FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!” The Snatcher bellowed as he sat on your bed. He was looking out the window before turning to look at you. A small yellow tinted blush appeared under his eyes. “FOOL PLEASE PUT THAT SHIRT BACK ON OR SO HELP ME. PANTS TOO!” He put both clawed hands over his eyes to pretend he wasn’t looking right at you.

You screamed and pulled your shirt back down before slamming your bedroom door and retreated to your living room the acquire your pants and put them on.

_Oh shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this. I also might bump this up to M depending how my writing goes for the next few chapters. I hope that doesn't inconvenience anyone!


	11. Did You Just...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get heated, but die down immediately after coming to some realizations. Then the unexpected happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this in a week or so. I don't keep track! Pft. Aren't I just the good multi-tasker.

Holding yourself closely you turned to go to your kitchen to pull out a knife from your drawer that an odd orange owl had given you months earlier only to find it was gone. You felt your safety and well-being go out the window as you heard three knocks at the threshold of your kitchen leading to the living room.

“I’m pretty sure these don’t work against me, kiddo.” The Snatcher was floating in that threshold holding one of your prized knives. Studying the item between his clawed hands before pointing it straight at you.

“I… um…” You tried to read the situation the best you could until you realized it was The Snatcher. You were sure you didn’t use the Ouija board at any point the past two days, so you stood up straight looking at the knife he was holding up against you. “How… how did you get in here?” You stuttered.

“Oh, me? I murdered those damn forest spirits to pay you a visit for being so rude to me yesterday.” He put the knife down on your counter and made his way towards you, the room turning a mix of purples and black around you. The kitchen looking like a void rather than a kitchen now.

You felt your heart skip a few beats. Something didn’t feel right about his encounter with you. He felt a lot more deadly versus the first time he met you. Something was about to happen, and you were about to regret that camping trip ever happened. Then it hit you: The Snatcher was the man at the bar from earlier.

“Were you the guy I danced with earlier tonight?” You mustered out, trying to remedy the situation. “That was quite… quite the song you chose! Ahah…” You laughed nervously as his face went deadpan.

“I… I didn’t know, alright? If I could’ve murdered you then- I would’ve. That song I thought was about not being unusual to kill someone! Not unusual to love someone! That damn producer needs to rewrite those lyrics because it is QUITE unusual to love someone!” The Snatcher bit back at your remark as fast as you could manage a tiny squeak of defeat.

“Why do you want to kill me all of a sudden?” You asked, trying to back up into the corners of his void.

“I came to a revelation last night, sweetheart. You made me go soft for a day- that’s not supposed to happen. I’m grateful for the books and the sweet-nothings you told me, but even without a contract I can still eat your soul!” He started to close in on you before noticing the terrified look on your face. He felt a pang in his chest that held him back from swiping you.

“I only wanted to help you!” You put your arms up in self-defense waiting for him to swipe you and whisk you away on deaths sweet embrace. Nothing came, you opened one of your eyes to The Snatcher looking at his clawed hands with a depressed expression on his face. In that immediate moment the room turned back to normal. It was the same kitchen as always, excepted it had a depressed shadow in it.

The Snatcher ignored your words of comfort, studying his claws. “I can’t.” He grumbled to himself before looking at you.

“Take a breath, please. It’s okay. You’re not going to murder me the second I put my arms down are you?” You put your arms down and stared at him with tired eyes. You both held a silent starting contest for a moment, savoring each other’s longing eyes. You were the first to lose anyway after yawning.

“It was my intention to murder you outside. Then it got to be in here… and I don’t know what happened after that. This is pathetic and no I won’t kill you.” The Snatcher said as you started to move around and past him. This felt like one huge joke. You were tired of his current shit and pulling this. “Hello? Where are you going? Are you listening?! How can you move around me when I was about to kill you?” He huffed as he started to follow behind you.

“Are you going to stay the night or what? It’s going to be daylight in a few hours. I want to sleep. I had a long-ass day. Feel free to use my bed to if you need somewhere comfortable to sit. It’ll be like a little sleepover except not. I guess even after you tried to murder me, I’ll let you stay. We can talk in the morning.” You opened the door to your bedroom and crawled into your sheets without much thought to put on PJ’s. You were beyond tired and didn’t want to process what just almost came to be your demise.

The Snatcher followed you into your bedroom, confused by your words. _Sleepover? As if. This kid wishes._ He flipped off the switch so you wouldn’t have to sleep with the lights on. He stayed in the doorway until he heard your breathing stabilize. _Why can’t I fucking kill this brat? What is with me? This could be over in an instant. I could do it right now. I could end it all right now and these bastardly feelings I have about you would go away. It would be like *POOF*! Done. No strings attached, but your eyes tell me you want to live, and you see something in me. Something that I don’t. It’s bugging me._ He was in deep thought until a deep snore on your end broke his thoughts. Something about that made him smile.

_What would it be like to be human again? To sleep, to hold, to eat, and to love? It would be a dream come true, but that is not for me. It never was for me. Whatever god or spirit out there did this to me, it’s best that I stay the way I am._ The Snatcher backed out of the doorway as if he was backing out of his thoughts. He turned to go down the small hall into your living room where he laid on your small couch. At least it was small to him. He sighed heavily as dark thoughts of killing you began to flood his mind again. _What a delight that would be, but I can’t. The contracts were all so every party could live. Should I make another that risks their life again? Maybe. No._

The Snatcher sat there in his thoughts. He closed his eyes as if daydreaming and let out a long drawn out sigh once again. _The morning. I will see the sun again, but it brings me no joy like it does to humans. I’ll just apologize to them and leave in the morning and make a no-contact agreement with them. That’ll do it. If they come over again- I have no choice, but to eat their soul. All would be good!_ He nodded triumphantly to himself before dozing off.

\--

The morning turned into the afternoon where The Snatcher was becoming impatient with your sleeping schedule. He had scoured your apartment for something to do and even left briefly to make a few contracts with the Mafia out of pure boredom. He immediately crashed into your room by pulling off the blankets.

“TIME TO GET UP, KIDDO! RISE AND SHINE! IT’S HIGH NOON.” He bellowed in an annoyed tone while you struggled to find warmth of your blankets that were no longer there.

“Please… just let me sleep.” You opened your eyes slowly and tried to sit up and grab your blanket from him. In which he moved it around to prevent you from obtaining the item of warmth.

“No. We need to talk, and I need to leave.” He narrowed his eyes at you.

“Fine. Shoot.” You pulled your legs into a criss-cross position on your sheets and let out a large yawn. The Snatcher set the blanket down on your lap and hovered over you.

“If only it were that easy. Anyway, I propose a contract that would allow us no-contact. A restraining order if you will.” He said as he brought a contract into existence detailing everything about not coming in contact with each other.

“I’m sorry that’s not something I can sign.” You grabbed the contract and looked at it briefly before handing it back to him.

“Before I get angry, can I ask why not?” The Snatcher asked, growing irritated with you.

“A prince is nothing without their consort, are they not?” You asked with a smug smile appearing over your face. It was quite the bold move.

If the Snatcher had a jaw, it would be dropping. Instead he let out a frustrated sigh. He was clearly flustered by your remark. He ripped up his own contract and got in your face, booping your nose with a claw. “Listen here, brat. Don’t say that to me, I can do a replay of last night and it would all be OFFICIALLY over. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you, I just choose to hear bits and pieces. I stand by what I say.” You grinned.

“I… hate humans. I thought kids were bad- but you. You make the top of the list! The TIPPY top! Like the toppiest TOP. You’re the fool of fools to even THINK for a moment I’d enjoy what you just said.” The Snatcher stared at you with beady eyes, in turn you just let out a chuckle.

“So, can I be the Prince’s jester if I can’t be his cohort?” You asked, tilting your head. Your poor attempts at flirting were getting to him, but he wasn’t having it. Or maybe he was oblivious.

“You can be the Prince’s enemy that he murders brutally in his torture dungeon.” He went full deadpan now.

“I’m pretty sure your former home just had a wine cellar.” You remarked.

“Okay, now you can cut it out.” He let out an annoyed growl to signal that he was done before continuing, “What do you want?”

“I want to see what you’re really about. I’ve said that quite a few times. I know you like law books. I know you’re a tortured soul. I want to see if you have a personality other than just making contracts and… eating people’s souls?” You nervously clutched at your blanket now, waiting for his answer.

“(Y/N). I find that very endearing, but I can’t just let someone I picked up a few weeks ago ruin my life at the snap of their fingers.”

“Then what if I created a contract myself?” You asked.

“I guess- I mean wait… You can’t do that! Not against me! I’m the one who makes the rules here, kiddo. Not you. In case you have already forgotten I’m basically a handsome devil who wants your soul and…” He was abruptly caught off as you coughed to interject.

“You’re basically a Handsome Prince who wants someone to talk to in the afterlife.” You smugly smiled again. This made The Snatcher flustered. You were right and wrong at the same time, but he didn’t want to admit that defeat so he stayed quiet. “How about this…” You said as you tried to gather up courage to speak.

“Since your little shapeshifting fiasco last night, how about we try to go out and get to know each other. I think it’ll be a fantastic way for me to understand why you want to murder me, and others. Memories can only cover so much and… you know it would be fun since you’re out of your forest. You don’t even HAVE to shapeshift if you don’t want to- into something human.” You laughed nervously, though The Snatcher’s next words you didn’t see coming from a million miles away.

“Fine. Whatever floats your boat, kiddo. I can’t win against such a rude kid like yourself. If it gives me time out of my forest- I SUPPOSE I can waste my time with you.” He grumbled, clearly not happy with the corner you put him in.

“Perfect.” You clasped your hands together forming a small clap. “Tomorrow, you meet be back here at… oh let’s say 7 PM? We can have a walk down the Mafia Town beach and docks… There’s not a whole lot going on- but I do know they’re doing some kick off party for fishing season so there will be fireworks most likely.”

“Sure, whatever.” The Snatcher said, trying to act like he wasn’t even mildly interested.

“I have a short work day today and it starts in a few hours. So, I’ll go do my thing- and you can mentally prepare yourself for what it’s like to have fun.” You beamed positivity towards him which he tried to deflect.

“I know how to have fun! It might not be YOUR fun, but I know how to be… happy.” He lied through his small static Cheshire grin. “Fine, I’ll see you around. I won’t be late. I guess.”

You started to get out of bed and started to walk over to him to give him a big hug, but he pushed you away before anything could happen. You sighed and said your goodbye’s as he slithered off into the deep shadows of your room, disappearing in plain sight. You began your routine to get ready for work, delighted at the fact you would be hanging out with someone who’s completely opposite from you.

\--

The Snatcher made it back to Subcon in one piece and retreated to his tree in a daze. He picked up and organized his own books before sitting down with one he had received from you. After flipping a few pages, he realized he couldn’t focus. His mind was set on you and the following day. It was then he slammed his book in a flurry. He started to freak out like a teenager who had just been asked out on their first date.

“DID THAT BRAT JUST ASK ME OUT ON A DATE?”


	12. A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your little outing with The Snatcher doesn't go as planned and some heavy baggage is dumped on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to sincerely apologize for the short chapter and the lack of chapters. I have been dealing with depression and a lot of major life changes. Some of you follow my twitter and know this. Again, my apologies. This might be the final chapter unless I find motivation to write the upcoming chapters. I do not know.

The day leading up to the date came and go as quickly as it started and new day had begun. It was the day. You had a day off work, and you were up and ready by 4 PM, but realized quickly that your apartment was a mess. You never really got the chance to clean it the past few weeks because of the events leading with The Snatcher. You dusted off old empty shelves and did laundry that needed to get done because your basket was overflowing onto the floor spilling its contents everywhere. You didn’t think much of The Snatcher possibly staying the night afterwards, but it was in the back of your mind. The what if’s flooding your senses in the fluffiest of tones which made butterflies flutter in your stomach. You hummed to yourself, embracing the fact you would finally get to know something more about your new friend.

\--

The hours flew by again as it became close to 7. You put on your best beach fun-time clothes, a pair of tan khakis and your favorite color shirt with no graphics. You did your hair up the best you could manage even if you weren’t great at it. It was a casual outing, but you wanted to be the very best you could be. The doorbell rang, but before you could put down the blanket you had in your arms, you saw a shadowy figure step through the door. It wasn’t just any figure; it wasn’t The Snatcher’s usual form. It was a ghostly apparition of his former self. Quite Prince-like and upstanding. His jack-o’-lantern face being the only thing that stood out, but he was just about a few inches above you instead of a few feet in his normal form.

“FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! You think a door could stop me?” He said in a flustered tone with folded arms.

You were just flustered as he was, you struggled to find the words to say hello, but your breath hitched in your throat because of how handsome he was despite being dead. You finished putting down the blanket before turning around again. “It would be nice if you said hello instead of calling me names.” You said.

“Fine. Hello. Can we do this thing now? I don’t want to do this longer than I must. The dwellers and the residents of Subcon are hold some trial for another divorce and I need to be in attendance to recognize it.” The Snatcher said, quite unhappy with the situation. He planned this very carefully over the course of the previous night. He wanted to make you feel bad for bringing him here and to lie his way out of it. Little did he know, you were having none of it.

“We’ll see. I’m sure your dwellers will be fine without you.” You moved around him and tried to grab his hand in which he slapped yours away out of spite. He was like a grumpy old cat that refused treats. You would let him have his moment while you had your outing. You opened to the door and he followed you.

The Snatcher stood out from everyone else because of his ghastly appearance, but he didn’t mind. He wanted to be feared and that was okay with you if he wasn’t actually hurting anyone on your outing together. You two walked and talked about mundane subjects to the shores of Mafia Town where you were met with the ocean and a few Mafia men who were enjoying the last of the sun. They were also getting their BBQs and cotton candy makers set up for the event that you mentioned the other day.

You were talking about some history of Mafia Town as you noticed The Snatcher left you to go inspect one of the cotton candy makers that the men were setting up. He suddenly reverted into a child in a matter of minutes of you walking down with him. He was preaching to you about the new laws he had learned in his book and how his latest victim could recite a good portion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in minutes.

The Snatcher stared with a blank expression standing a good few feet away from the small stand, his eyes glazed in wonder, but his mouth spelled confusion. _How in Subcon does that work? It forms out of air._ _This is witchcraft._ He took a few steps forward before stopping to inspect again.

“Do you want one?” You asked coming up behind him.

“What is it?” He asked. “They do know they can’t kill me, right? Forming fluffy clouds of death wouldn’t be able to beat me. Also- they’re blue and pink. You know blue doesn’t suit me.” He growled in discontent.

“It’s… literally sugar on a stick.” You walked over to the Mafia man who happily gave you one on the house. You came back and held it out in front of him, digging your toes into your sandals in anticipation. It was almost like you were giving him flowers, but instead it was a sugary nightmare.

The Snatcher took the cone and inspected it before touching it with his hand, exploring the fluffy texture. The Snatcher was confused, curious, and irritated at the same time. He took a fluffy piece off the cotton candy and placed it in his mouth. _Peculiar, but also tasty. Wait, tasty?_ He looked at you with concerned eyes. “I can taste it?” He asked before taking in more of the sugary content.

“Why are you asking me?” You were confused before walking towards the seashore to watch the sunset. The Snatcher following behind you like a child with their first cotton candy. It was a soft moment for him, he felt vulnerable and hated every moment of it. It felt right at the same time to be vulnerable again. He decided he would try to calm down, but only for today.

“I ask because this taste is delightful even though it’s blue.” He remarked before finishing his snack. He looked around to find a recycling bin which had pictures of paper surrounding the cans edge. He plopped the paper cone in before going back to you.

“Not everything is out to get you, Snatcher.” You commented.

“How do I know that when the person I loved the most killed me in cold blood? I waited for her return for what seemed like ages. A cold wine cellar that soon turned into mud and ice. My blood mixed into the fray because I attained frost bite and may have lost my legs at some point. I don’t remember very well. How can you sit here and tell me not everyone is out to get me?” He asked sounding serious.

You sat there in silence, trying to figure out the way to best comfort him. “I…” You trailed off trying to answer him. He stood there with now clenched fists, trying not to break out into a broken cry.

“See? You don’t have an answer. No one ever does- because I killed them all before they could even think about attempting to hurt me. The only thing that’s left to kill on my person is my purpose if that’s even a thing to me anymore.”

You were silent until The Snatcher let out a broken sigh. He turned to you and tried to start talking to you again, but his words were blared out by the sounds of the first fireworks being set off. It startled him back into his normal form. Losing his prince-like stature and became his true form.

“Fucking… fireworks.” He sighed again before facepalming to himself and then looking directly down at you. “It’s been nice, kiddo, really. Just… fireworks and fluffy clouds that you can eat… are not my thing. This is a new era that I cannot begin to comprehend. When the world almost ended with that one mustached girl… I thought that was the peak of my knowledge… It wasn’t. You prove me wrong over and over again that this world… this place…” He glanced over the silent waves. “Isn’t meant for someone like me. Not here at least.”

You noticed his voice drop and he became solemn. The Snatcher was inconsolable at this point. He refused to speak further and started to leave you to where you stood. Soon he became nothing within the crowds, returning to his rightful home. Where he thought he could exist without you or anyone else.

You felt your entire soul sink to the depths of your stomach. For once you would just love for him to be happy. To feel something other than anger and resentment- but you realized that again, you couldn’t change him. Having the mindset to change anyone was impossible- you could be that shoulder to cry on, but you couldn’t be his world shaper. It would not happen and that difficult for you to grasp yourself.

\---

You stayed through the entirety of the event and went home afterwards. It wasn’t fun as it could be without The Snatcher. However, you knew very well you should give him space. This was a lot for him to handle and maybe it wasn’t the best idea to pressure him into something he didn’t want to do in the first place. You took a shower, got on a new pair of pajamas and laid awake on your bed for a few minutes. Your eyes began to hazily fall into a slumber before a Subconite Screech erupted in your headspace.

_Hello? Hello! Please help us! He’s gone MAD!_


End file.
